Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stand-in captain MS Dhoni shared his thoughts on the team’s ongoing struggles following their heavy defeat against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 25th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
CSK fell to their fifth consecutive loss as KKR delivered a dominant all-round performance, cruising to an eight-wicket victory at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday. The visitors chased down the modest target of 104 in just 10.1 overs, finishing at 107/2 and climbing to third place on the points table with three wins in six matches. The emphatic win also gave KKR a significant boost in their Net Run Rate.
Meanwhile, CSK slipped to ninth in the standings, struggling to find momentum in the season so far.
Reflecting on the defeat, Dhoni cited a lack of partnerships and poor shot selection under pressure as key reasons behind the loss.
“It has been quite a few nights that have not gone our way. The challenge has been there, we have to accept the challenge. Today, I felt we did not have enough runs on the board. It has been the case over there; when we bowled in the 2nd innings, it stopped a bit. Today, it did in the first innings. When you lose too many wickets, there is pressure and with quality spinners, it is difficult. We never got any partnerships, and a bit more partnerships, application, and we would be fine. What is important is to see the conditions,” Dhoni said during the post-match presentation.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter further emphasized the importance of the middle order stepping up, noting that the team cannot rely solely on the top order to chase challenging totals.
“We have done a couple of games decently well, so back your strengths and play the shots you can play. Not match to someone’s else play. Our openers are good openers, play authentic cricket shots, they don’t slog or look to hit across the line. It is important not to get desperate seeing the scorecard. If we start looking for 60 with our lineup, it will be very difficult for us. Get partnerships going, maybe capitalise in the middle and later overs, and if we lose wickets, the middle order has to do their job differently. And the slog will be delayed for quite a while,” the 43-year-old added.
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The defeat has raised concerns about CSK’s ability to bounce back in the remaining matches of the tournament, especially with continued inconsistency from the batting unit.