 "Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni could manage just 1 run in four deliveries after walking out to bat at No 9 during the home game against Kolkata Knight Riders. PTI")
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Chennai Super Kings have hardly had a settled combination in the six matches that they have played in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), making changes to their XI in nearly every game. Their performance on the field, on the contrary, has been rather consistent, even if for the wrong reasons.
MS Dhoni would have been hoping to revive CSK’s season that never really took off after their victory over fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians in their season-opener on 23 March. And he had been greeted with the roar that he is so used to hearing at the Chepauk when walking out for the toss for the home game against current title holders Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.
It was, after all, Dhoni’s first game as CSK captain since he led the franchise to their fifth title in Ahmedabad in 2023. And ‘Captain Cool’ was returning to the helm following a season-ending injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had been appointed his succcessor last year but couldn’t take the team to the playoffs and had been having a disastrous run this season.
By the time Rinku Singh sealed a dominant eight-wicket victory for KKR with nearly half of their overs still left at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Dhoni and his team once again became the subject of memes on social media while continuing to face a barrage of criticism as they succumbed to a fifth consecutive defeat.
Batting remains at the heart of Chennai’s woes this season
It was the batting department that let the team down once again, though what the home supporters at Chepauk watched in horror on Friday was worse than anything that CSK had produced so far this season.
The five-time champions had fallen short in four consecutive chases after defeating MI by four wickets in a chase of 156, and perhaps were hoping to return to winning ways by setting a target for a change, even if they were asked to do so by KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsCSK appeared to have solved their opening woes after New Zealand teammates Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway took the team to 59 for no loss at the end of the powerplay during their chase of 220. On Friday, however, it was back to square one for the Kiwi opening pair as Ravindra and Conway departed for 4 and 12 respectively, the former facing nine deliveries during his stay at the crease.
On a surface that wasn’t a 180-run wicket by any means, it was imperative for the two to set the tone early on by making the most of the fielding restrictions in order to boost their team’s chances of posting a total in the range of 150-160 at the very least.
Instead, both openers had departed by the fifth over, at which point Chennai had scored just 18 runs – Test cricket witnesses more intent these days than what Ravindra and Conway exhibited in their latest outing at Chepauk.
Rahul Tripathi and Vijay Shankar tried to revive the innings with a 43-run partnership for the third wicket in 33 deliveries. All their hard work, however, was undone at the halfway mark of the innings with both batters departing in quick succession.
That CSK posted just 103/9 on the board at the end of 20 overs , their lowest total at home and their third-lowest overall in the IPL, came down to intent and the lack of partnerships – something that was pointed out by Dhoni in the post-match presentation ceremony.
After Shankar and Tripathi’s 43-run partnership, the next-highest stand was between Shivam Dube (31 not out off 29 balls) and Anshul Kamboj, worth 24 runs in 16 deliveries with nearly all the runs coming off the former’s bat. Had it not been for Dube hitting a couple of boundaries in the final over, CSK might have failed to cross 100 in a completed innings for only the third time in the IPL.
Only three batters had a strike rate above 100, with Shankar having made the most impact with his 29 off 21 deliveries that included two fours and the only six of the innings.
Dhoni falls back to No 9, much to the disappointment of CSK fans
Worst of all, Dhoni reignited the discussion surrounding his decision to continue playing for the franchise despite his dodgy knees as he walked out to bat at No 9 for the second time this season.
His decision to send hold himself back and send R Ashwin ahead during the loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru had led to experts and fans questioning whether ‘Thala’ was genuinely fit to play at the age of 43.
Dhoni promoted himself to No 7 in the next two games and had batted at three down in the high-scoring game against PBKS in Mullanpur. However, when it came to walking out to bat with more than seven overs left in the innings following the fall of CSK’s fifth wicket, ‘Captain Cool’ once again remained glued to his seat in the dugout and sent Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Hooda ahead of him.
Last, but certainly not the least, any discussion of the Chepauk wicket being something of a minefield was quickly shot down by the KKR top-order later in the evening, as KKR collected 71 runs in the powerplay for the loss of just one wicket thanks to Sunil Narine’s explosive 44 off 18 balls.