CSK captain MS Dhoni is unhappy with his team as they suffered their seventh defeat of the season. Photo: BCCI/IPL
As Chennai Super Kings suffered yet another defeat – a five-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday – at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, captain MS Dhoni was visibly upset.
Dhoni, who took over the captaincy from injured captain Ruturaj Gaikwad midway through the IPL 2025, said putting up 154 was far from "justifiable" on a Chepauk pitch that did not have much support for the bowlers. Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down the total in 18.4 overs.
After the match, Dhoni said it was difficult to win when the majority of the players failed to fire. He also said that CSK bowlers failed to capitalise on the opportunity after SRH lost three wickets for 54 runs.
"I think we kept losing wickets and another thing is in the first innings the wicket was slightly better and 157 wasn't a justifiable score," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"It was not turning a lot, a little two-paced but nothing out of the ordinary. Yes, second innings there was a bit of help. Our spinners, the quality was there and they were bowling in the right areas, but we were 15-20 runs short," he added.
Brevis Dewald was CSK's highest scorer in the match, scoring 42 off 25. Commenting on his performance, Dhoni said, "I think he batted really well and we needed that in the middle order. When the spinners come in, you do it either by batsmanship or picking the right areas, but that's an area where we want to improve because middle overs are crucial."
However, Dhoni did not hold back his thoughts on the team's poor state of affairs in the ongoing season of the IPL.
"In a tournament like this, if there are one or two areas to plug in the holes it is good, but when a majority of the players are not doing well you need to make changes. You cannot just keep going. We are just not putting enough runs on the board," he said.
CSK currently sit at the bottom of the table with just two wins from nine matches.
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