The Chennai Super Kings’ season keeps heading downhill, and their fourth straight loss in IPL 2025 came with more heartbreak, as a breathtaking late assault from MS Dhoni couldn’t save the five-time champions from an 18-run defeat against Punjab Kings on Tuesday, April 8.
With just 25 balls left and 69 runs needed, MS Dhoni came to bat at No. 5 and instantly made an impact with the bat as they were chasing 220 runs to win the game against Punjab Kings.
MS Dhoni lit up the evening with a blistering knock of 27 runs off 12 balls, hitting three towering sixes and one boundary against the Punjab Kings in Chandigarh.
MS Dhoni’s blazing knock goes in vain as CSK crash to fourth straight defeat in the IPL 2025
But the task was monumental, and MS Dhoni’s fireworks couldn’t save the Chennai Super Kings from another disappointing finish. After the match, Simon Doull, the former New Zealand pacer turned commentator, slammed the CSK team management for not utilizing Dhoni fully.
Doull questioned why MS Dhoni wasn’t sent in earlier, especially given the explosive impact he made in so few balls.
Doull highlighted that Dhoni alone hit three sixes, while the rest of the batting lineup could only manage five, lamenting that CSK has been missing the opportunity to use his firepower. He feels Dhoni should bat at No. 4 and make more difference.
It’s not his fault: Simon Doull defends MS Dhoni
Simon Doull was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz, “Dhoni had three sixes in 12 balls. The rest of the team had five in total. So that tells you he’s still got the ability and power to hit those sixes. That’s why we have been talking about getting him up in the order. Because 27 off 12 balls, when they are 2 down, actually can make a difference. It’s not his fault.”
He also pointed to Devon Conway’s sluggish knock of 69 runs off 49 balls as a key factor in CSK’s downfall against the PBKS. CSK opener’s innings lacked urgency, and he failed to shift the gears when it mattered, leaving the middle order with a mountain to climb.
Not just that, Conway was retired out with a little over two overs to go, but by then, the damage was already done, and Doull felt his decision to retire out came too late and didn’t allow Ravindra Jadeja the time he needed to settle and finish the game for CSK against PBKS.
Simon Doull blames Devon Conway for CSK’s crushing loss to PBKS
The commentator signed off by saying, “Retiring Conway was an interesting decision. He had the pace of the pitch, but his strike rate was too low. In a game where you’ve got a strike rate of 190 to win, he was scoring at 140. But he was retired out too late, too late for Jadeja to assess.”
The New Zealander feels that if CSK had sent Dhoni up earlier, the result could have looked very different. Chennai is now in serious trouble in the ongoing IPL 2024, and unless they make bold decisions and turn things around quickly, their playoff hopes may just finish with another defeat.
Doull signed off by saying, “But Dhoni was 27 off 12 balls… if it happens at no. 3 or 4, that makes a difference to the game. By the time he came out to bat, the run rate was 14. It was too late.”
