Following their five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, which had effectively eliminated them, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted the many problems his team has encountered in IPL 2025, and their persistently sub-par totals were the largest of all.
Batting first, Chennai struggled again, being able to only score 154 runs. Besides the energetic input from Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis's mid-season join-in, and Deepak Hooda's final fling, the rest of CSK batting order failed to perform. Despite them gaining momentum for a little while in the second half, their total became too little and resulted in their fourth home game in a row going down the drain.
Dhoni pondered on how hard it is to return in such a scenario: "In a tournament like this, if you have one or two things to correct, it's fine. But when the majority of your players are not performing, it becomes challenging. You need to make changes, but when the majority of the players are not delivering, you have no choice but to tinker. We are not scoring enough runs on the board, which is crucial at the moment. The game has changed. I'm not saying it's always about making 180-200, but you need to analyze the conditions and try to put up a competitive total," he told in the post-match interview.
Now struggling at the bottom of IPL 2025 with just two wins in nine matches, Chennai Super Kings have their work cut out. While Sunrisers Hyderabad started the game in a comparable situation, their record first win at Chepauk has cemented the opportunity for playoff entries firmly in their bag.
For Nitish Kumar Reddy, the all-rounder who was instrumental in winning the game along with Kamindu Mendis, it is a question of learning from the turn of events of Royal Challengers Bangalore last season. Reddy is hopeful about his team, thinking that a good finish will propel them into the playoffs. "It's a do-or-die for us. RCB were in the same situation last year and won seven on the trot. Why can't we do the same this year? We're giving it 100 percent, and we'll take it from there," he added.
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