MS Dhoni made a huge next year comment after Chennai Super Kings suffered their sixth defeat of the season. The five-time IPL Champions have only managed 2 wins in IPL 2025. MS Dhoni is leading the Yellow Army in Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence as he is nursing a elbow fracture.
Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni looked dejected after his team’s sixth defeat in the Indian Premier League in 2025. Mumbai Indians thumped the five-time champions by 9 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. It was a collective failure as the batters and bowlers were not up to the mark on a batting-friendly wicket.
Mumbai Indians thumped CSK by a stellar 9 wickets at Wankhede in IPL 2025
Despite a flat batting-friendly surface at Wankhede, CSK could only manage 176/5, a total that looked underwhelming given MI’s explosive batting depth. The innings lacked firepower, with Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja being the only notable contributors, but even they failed to push the run rate above 150.
CSK’s top order struggled, and the middle order failed to capitalize. Their caution in the powerplay was costly—only one boundary came in the first four overs. That allowed MI’s bowlers to settle in and dictate terms early. When MI came out to chase, it was a no-contest. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav made light work of the target, with MI finishing the chase in just 15.4 overs—boosting their Net Run Rate (NRR) and crushing CSK’s morale in the process.
If there was one bright spot for CSK, it was the debut of 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, a last-minute replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad. In his maiden IPL outing, Mhatre smashed 32 off just 15 deliveries, announcing himself with flair.
With just four points from eight games, the five-time champions now sit at the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table, and skipper MS Dhoni has hinted at the franchise looking ahead to IPL 2026 team combinations if qualification becomes impossible. The loss was not just another entry in the defeat column—it was a stark reminder of CSK’s fading dominance. For a team built on consistency and experience, Sunday’s performance lacked both.
We were quite below par- MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni said the franchise will start ‘looking at combinations’ for IPL 2026 if they fail to qualify this year, after their huge nine-wicket defeat to rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 20).
CSK were already placed at the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table before the match. Now, they have just four points after eight matches and need to win each of their remaining six games to have a chance at finishing in the top four. The kind of issues they showed in this match — scoring only 176 on a flat Wankhede wicket and letting MI chase it in the 16th over — makes a turnaround like that seem quite difficult.
“We need to see if we are playing the right form of cricket, trying to put right amount of runs,” Dhoni said after the defeat, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
“A few more catches will help, we are trying to plug in the holes. Take one game at a time. Look at the combinations for the next season, if we don’t qualify.”
This was one of CSK’s worst defeats in recent memory, and also their first loss to MI since 2022. The batting order lacked the required firepower, which showed in how the top-scorers, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, barely crossed a strike-rate of 150. In the second innings, only Jadeja got among the wickets.
“We were quite below par,” Dhoni said.
“Knew dew would come in the second half. Bumrah is one of the best death bowlers in the world, MI started their death bowling early, we should have started our slog early. We should have capitalised and got those runs. [Mhatre] Batted well, he picked his shots well. Wanted to play his shots, we also haven’t seen him much,”
The odd ball was gripping. They played spin well. We never had a par score. If you give away too many in the first six. It wasn’t like it was coming on nicely. We need to realise, we are successful because we play good cricket. But we need not get too emotional,” he added.
MS Dhoni is leading CSK in Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence. The CSK opener was ruled out of the season due to an elbow injury. CSK’s batting has lacked the firepower and it has cost them big time. MI, who chased down 177 in just 15.4 overs, are at the 6th spot.
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