The loss left Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stuck at the bottom of the table, while Mumbai Indians (MI) climbed to the sixth spot after securing their third consecutive win. Following the defeat to MI in IPL 2025 on Sunday, CSK captain MS Dhoni acknowledged that his team fell well short of the required total. Despite solid half-centuries from Shivam Dube (50) and Ravindra Jadeja (53*), CSK could only manage 176/5. In response, Rohit Sharma scored his first half-century of the season, earning the Man of the Match award, as he shared an unbroken 114-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed a blistering 68 off just 30 balls.
Dhoni’s Post-Match Comments: Reflection on Performance and Future Plans
“I think we were quite below par, because we all knew that dew would come in the second half, and we were in a position to exploit the middle overs. I just felt that with Bumrah being one of the best death bowlers in the world right now, once they started their death bowling early, that was the time we should have capitalized and started our slog slightly earlier.
Even if Bumrah went for runs after that, it would have been a plus point. I think there were a few overs where we could have gotten slightly more runs. We needed those runs because 175 with the dew around is not a par score,” Dhoni stated during the post-match presentation.
He also credited Suryakumar Yadav for his brilliant batting against the CSK spinners, adding that the dew factor made it even more difficult for his bowlers to control the game.
“I think the odd ball was still gripping, and for us, the first 6 overs were most important. If you give away too many runs in those overs, it becomes slightly easier. Surya is a brilliant player of spin bowling, and with the dew, the ball was doing slightly less, but it wasn’t coming on nicely.
What we need to realize is that we are successful because we play good cricket, and when we’re not playing well, it’s important not to get too emotional and stay practical. There have been instances, like in 2020, where the season wasn’t great for us, but we need to see whether we are playing the right form of cricket and whether we are applying ourselves,” he added.
Finally, Dhoni gave a glimpse into CSK’s future plans. He emphasized that while the team is focused on qualifying for the playoffs this season, they are also looking ahead to next year.
“Those are the question marks we have got few catches here and there will help. Other than that, we are just trying to plug the holes. With all the games in front of us that we are supposed to win, we are taking it one game at a time. If we lose a few, what will be important for us is to get the right combination for next year. You don’t want too many players changing, so we’ll focus on qualifying, but if not, we’ll secure a solid 11 for next year and come back strong,” Dhoni concluded.