CSK turn to Dhoni to avoid a hat-trick of defeats at fortress Chepauk
Just like CSK, KKR are also in the bottom half of the points table with Narine and Russell yet to fire
Deivarayan Muthu
10-Apr-2025
Big picture: After losing Gaikwad, CSK could lose control of Chepauk
Murphy's law has taken a special liking to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025. After losing four games in a row, they have now lost their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for the rest of the tournament to injury. CSK have sent out an SOS to MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain.
The last time Dhoni batted at Chepauk, something strange happened: the crowd began to leave. Chepauk is usually a pulsing bowl of noise, but there was pin-drop silence when CSK's chase petered out against Delhi Capitals (DC) with Dhoni at the crease last weekend. CSK are now on the verge of entering unfamiliar territory: if they go down to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, it will be the first time that they will have lost three IPL games in a row at Chepauk.
While the reunion of Rachin Ravindra with Devon Conway at the top has remedied some of CSK's powerplay troubles, the dearth of firepower in the middle order continues to hurt them. Their middle-order batters (Nos. 4-7) have the lowest strike rate (126.04) this season. While KKR's middle order has a higher strike rate of 147.18, it's not on par with the top teams in the competition either.
Like CSK, KKR are also currently in the bottom half of the points table. The two teams have also made public their discontent with the pitches being rolled out at home. What will Chepauk throw up on Friday?
KKR's Caribbean stalwarts Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are yet to fire, but they will be pleased with Varun Chakravarthy, who continues to be unhittable. The mystery spinner has fond memories of Chepauk, having won both the IPL and TNPL here last year.
Form guide
Chennai Super Kings LLL (last three matches, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders LWL
Kolkata Knight Riders LWL
New loyalties
Ajinkya Rahane, who enjoyed a T20 career revival at CSK, will lead KKR against his former franchise. Dwayne Bravo, who was a more familiar face at CSK as a player and bowling coach, will plot against CSK, along with Rahane, in his new role as KKR's mentor.
Team news and likely XIIs
Apart from Dhoni taking over as CSK captain, Rahul Tripathi could return to the team in place of Gaikwad.
Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Mukesh Choudhary, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Matheesha Pathirana
If the conditions are conducive to spin, KKR might bring Moeen Ali back in place of left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, who has gone at almost 12 runs an over.
Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Moeen Ali/Spencer Johnson, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Vaibhav Arora, 12 Varun Chakravarthy
The big question
Russell hasn't batted above No. 7 in four innings so far in IPL 2025. Against Mumbai Indians (MI), he came in at No. 8. Perhaps KKR could push him up the order unless they don't want to expose him to R Ashwin. The offspinner has dismissed Russell twice in 17 balls while giving away just 16 runs in T20s. Against Ravindra Jadeja, Russell has fared much better, taking him for 69 runs off 38 balls while being dismissed twice. Russell has faced just seven balls from Noor Ahmad for 12 runs while being dismissed once.
Should Andre Russell bat up the order for KKR?
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In the spotlight: Shivam Dube and Venkatesh Iyer
On Wednesday, Punjab Kings (PBKS) denied Shivam Dube the spin of Yuzvendra Chahal or Glenn Maxwell. Instead, they served him the extra pace and bounce of Lockie Ferguson with a packed leg-side field. Dube scored 17 off 12 balls from Ferguson before being bowled. He could face a similar test against Russell on Saturday.
After starting the season with a pair of low scores, Venkatesh Iyer has found his groove with scores of 60 and 45 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). If he gets cracking at Chepauk, he might keep Jadeja away from the attack. The last time Venkatesh played at this venue, he sealed KKR's third IPL title with an unbeaten 52 off 26 balls.
Pitch and conditions
The Chepauk surface continues to be a mystery, with CSK coach Stephen Fleming saying that they haven't been able to come to grips with it in recent years. The weather is expected to be clear.
Stats and trivia
- Watch out for Dhoni vs KKR's spinners. Dhoni has faced 16 balls from Varun in the IPL for only 11 runs while being dismissed three times. His struggles against Narine are even starker: 39 runs off 74 balls at a strike rate of just 52.70, and one dismissal.
- CSK have hit 31 sixes in five innings, the least among nine teams who have played at least four games this season. In comparison, KKR have hit 42 sixes in five innings.
- Narine has dominated Ashwin with the bat, hitting him for 94 runs off 39 balls at a strike rate of over 240 while being dismissed once in the IPL.
- Vaibhav Arora will relish bowling to Conway and Ravindra in the powerplay. Since IPL 2024, against left-hand batters in the powerplay, Arora has picked up eight wickets in 11 innings at a strike rate of 7.00 and an economy rate of just over six.
Quotes
"It's just that we struck a young man who had the night of his life, and we weren't able to shut him down."
CSK coach Stephen Fleming on running into Priyansh Arya in Mullanpur
CSK coach Stephen Fleming on running into Priyansh Arya in Mullanpur
"We rate them as a highly-skilled team, and we will look to go out there and play the game and win."
Venkatesh Iyer on facing CSK at Chepauk
Venkatesh Iyer on facing CSK at Chepauk
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo