Chennai: After they were virtually eliminated by the five-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni claimed that Chennai Super Kings have experienced more than a few problems in the side this year in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 but perhaps the biggest of them is their consistently low scores.
After being put to bat first, apart from young gun Ayush Mhatre, mid-season inclusion Dewald Brevis, and a late blitz by Deepak Hooda, Chennai Super Kings batters faltered again and were only able to conjure 154 runs. Despite having tilted the game back in their favour for a brief moment in the second half, that total proved to be too low as they succumbed to their fourth-straight home defeat.
“In a tournament like this, if you have one or two areas where you can plug in the holes it is good, but if the majority of your players are not doing well, it becomes very difficult, because you have to do a few changes, but if the majority are doing well then you guy those guys that extra few games and if it doesn’t work out then you move onto the next one, but if 4 of them are not performing at the same time, you are bound to make that change, because you can’t just keep on going because we are not putting enough runs on the board, because it is essential right now, the game has changed. I am not saying it is always 180-200, but assess the conditions and then look to put the runs on the board,” said MS Dhoni in the post-match interview.
Chennai currently sit at the bottom of the Indian Premier League 2025 table with only two wins in nine games. Although SRH were in the same position heading into the game, their first-ever win at the Chepauk kept their hopes alive in the tournament.
All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who put on an unbeaten 49-run stand with Kamindu Mendis to seal the win, drew inspiration from what Royal Challengers Bengaluru did last season and hopes his side can win seven on the trot to qualify for the playoffs.
“Pretty much like the first innings, Noor bowled well and Khaleel too, at the end bowled well, thankful we were on the winning side. It is very important for us, it is a do-or-die for us. Last year, the same situation with RCB came up, and they won 7 in a row. Why not us this year? It is putting in 100 per cent, and the rest we will see,” said Reddy.
