IPL 2025 Live Report - Dube, Dhoni take CSK home

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were staring at the prospect of losing a sixth game in a row when MS Dhoni joined Shivam Dube with five overs left in the chase. But Dhoni's scintillating 11-ball 26 alongside Dube's well constructed 43 dragged them out of trouble against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to give them a second IPL 2025 win in seven outings.

A forgettable end to the day for Shardul Thakur, against his former team. Gets creamed for 19 runs, leaving LSG with only four to defend in the 20th.

Unless something goes miraculously wrong, CSK will be ending their five-game losing streak.

With 24 needed off two overs, Shardul takes the ball for the 19th. Dube guides the first ball for four, but Shardul;s follow up delivery is a bad one. A full-toss (later called a no ball) is slapped away by Dube for six and that brings the equation down to 13 off 11.

Can Shardul escape this over and leave something for the 20th over?

Dhoni finishes the 17th over with a one-handed six over deep square leg!

Shardul concedes 13!

CSK need 31 in 18 and ESPNcricinfo's forecaster swings in CSK's direction again.

But three overs is a lot of time. And we saw last night how quickly games turn.

Feel like we're in here for a classic finish tonight.

This number might have gone up a digits since I posted the stat above because Dhoni has pumped a four off Avesh and then nicked a four down to deep third to wrap up the 16th over. After conceding only 4 in 4 balls, Avesh's over goes for 12.

With the equation, it almost seems like the perfect time for Dhoni to walk in, and he does, ahead of Overton. He takes a single first ball, and we'll have to keep an eye on his running between the wickets with that knee being a general concern.

The pacers are back for the final five overs, but CSK have not had a ten-run over since the 3rd over. CSK cannot afford a sixth defeat in a row!

Digvesh Rathi is brilliant. He toils for 23 balls to maintain an economy of under six. And off his last ball, he finally gets a reward. Gets Vijay Shankar slicing a catch to backward point. He goes racing away like Tahir, an entertaining celebration but not so spicy this time. The wicket itself was off a great ball. Rathi had been sliding flatter balls all over but tossed the last delivery of his spell outside Vijay's eye-line.

Bowls a stunning 15th over to leave CSK at 111 for 5 with 56 runs needed in 30 balls. The wicket has also lifted ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster over to LSG's side. They are 68% favourites all of a sudden.

It's also the time out. Wish we could hear what the support staff are talking to the players about.

CSK reach 100 with four down, in 12.3 overs with new batter Vijay Shankar caressing a four over cover first ball.

But he's here because Jadeja holed out against Bishnoi. The spinners have managed to keep Dube quiet too. The way LSG are set up, they'd think they have the skills among their bowlers to put the squeeze on CSK if they keep pegging away at the wickets column.

Vijay's been in good nick, though. If he keeps playing his strokes, the pressure will be off Dube too. Only Overton and Dhoni among the batting resources left for CSK from here.

CSK 110/4 in 14 overs with Markram finishing his spell with 1-25. LSG's pacers have bowled just four overs of the first 14.

Yes, indeed, spin could be the way in for LSG here.

After conceding over 10 per over in the powerplay, Markram and Bishnoi have picked off Rachin and Tripathi.

CSK 78/3 in 8.5 overs with two left-handers Dube and Jadeja in the middle. Dube's prowess against spin doesn't need to be spelled out but LSG do have a bunch of unique options to counter him, even with spin.

This should be an interesting period of play with LSG getting a foot in the door of this game.

Rachin's been maneuvering the field beautifully by using his feet against both spinners. He has raced away to 32 in 18 and looks in fine touch.

Tripathi, after surviving a dropped chance early off Bishnoi's bowling, is trying to keep the scoreboard ticking.

CSK are in total control of proceedings and Pant introduces a third spinner inside eight overs of the chase.

Can Aiden Markram pose some questions with the ball? CSK need 100 in 78.

The assault has stopped though. Rasheed misjudges an Avesh change up but his 19-ball 27 at a strike-rate of 142.10 while chasing 167 has put CSK on the right track in this chase.

The IPL debutant has found his calling quickly! He flicks Akash off his hips for four, which the broadcaster described as "having shades of Kohli". Then a punch down the ground, followed by a mowed pull over midwicket.

Against Shardul he gets a couple more, and Rachin Ravindra joins him too. CSK 38 for 0 in three overs. LSG were 12-1 at this stage.

As it stands, Rasheed on 22 in 12. Rachin with 15 in 6. A super start for CSK (for a change this season)

You may remember 20-year old Shaik Rasheed, from Andhra, as the teenager whose 94 played a big role in the final of the 2022 U-19 World Cup final in the Caribbean. At the time, one quirk in the IPL auction registration rules had meant he wasn't eligible for the IPL since he was under-18 and hadn't played state cricket either.

But he's been backed by CSK for a few years now and today is the time to make impact. Devon Conway has been struggling and CSK have opted for something new. In 15 T20 innings, he has a strike-rate of under 130, but he has impressed recently in the Andhra Premier League where he was the third-highest run-scorer.

He's a good batter, that's not in doubt, because he has a first-class double hundred. But can he rise to the occasion with CSK's backs against the wall? This is the first time Rasheed is opening the batting in T20s. And he will take strike right away.

Stop. Start. Stop. Start. That's how the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) batting innings panned out against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the home team posted 166 for 7 in the first innings. In positive news to the LSG camp, Rishabh Pant played a crucial hand despite some struggles against spin to top score with 63 off 49 balls.

Pant began his innings inside the powerplay after CSK pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj landed early blows by dismissing Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran cheaply. Markram was gone after Rahul Tripathi took a stunning catch running behind from cover while Pooran was lbw.

Pant began his innings swiftly with his cuts and one reverse-lap six over short third. But the bowling of Noor Ahmed and, to an extent, Ravindra Jadeja saw Pant's strike rate plummet from a high of 165 to 103. Off Noor, he played 10 dots in 15 balls for a strike-rate of 40, the second-worst of all batters vs one bowler in the IPL (min. 15 balls).

However, from 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace-on options of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He raced to a 42-ball fifty courtesy two sixes and then looked for a big finish, but fell to Pathirana in the 20th over after a job well done.

Mitchell Marsh (30) and No. 5 Ayush Badoni (22) landed useful cameos but were outfoxed by Jadeja in his three-over spell of 2 for 24. Marsh paid the price of pulling across the line while Badoni charged at a fast, wide delivery.

Abdul Samad's 11-ball 20 late in the LSG innings allowed them to get 45 runs in the last three overs in Pant's company. But, it still left LSG with their lowest score of IPL 2025.

Bulls eye! A nonchalant throw from Dhoni to the bowler's end as the batters try to sneak a bye. Samad tried to bring Pant on strike and he'll have to walk back after a useful 20.

Although Pant does get on strike, Pathirana gets him to miscue a ball high up for MSD to grab another catch.

Rishabh Pant vs Noor Ahmed today was 6 runs, 15 balls, 10 dots.

The strike-rate of 40 is the joint-second lowest for a batter vs a bowler in an IPL innings, for a minimum of 15 balls faced. (Lowest is 33.33 by Dhoni vs Axar, who scored scored 5 off 15 in 2019.)

But when Pathirana returns for the 18th over, Pant reads him very well, first flicking a full ball over long on for six and the bouncer soon after pulled over deep midwicket.

The second six brings up his 42-ball half-century as LSG's scoring rate gets closer to eight.

With one key LSG player getting a good score today, LSG have received more good news also that Mayank Yadav is set to join their squad on Tuesday.

118 for 4 and only four overs left. Samad (10 off 6) and Pant (38 off 34) need to aim 13s per over if they can. Pant's strike-rate from around 165 has dipped to 110. Jadeja, Noor and Pathirana have kept him quiet and he's missing most of his shots against the spinners.

After every missed shot, Pant is wearing a frown... time is running out in this innings.

Pathirana loves the bouncer. He had bowled two in the 13th over already and a third one spooned by Badoni to deep third is a called a no-ball by the umpire after he referred it upstairs. The organisers have measured every player's height before the season, so technology deemed that a no-ball.

Next over, Badoni survives an lbw decision off Jadeja by a tiny margin with the ball grazing the glove. However his luck runs out, by a centimetre or two, as Dhoni stumps him out but with his gloves barely behind the stumps. Jadeja deserves the plaudits for going short and wide expecting Badoni to charge at him. The experienced man gets the youngster and LSG are 105/4 in 13.4 overs.

With two runs in his first four balls, Jamie Overton was bowling just the perfect follow-up 12th over to Noor's three-run 11th over.

But Badoni decides to ruin Overton's over by launching full balls over cover and fine leg for sixes.

Pant also moves into his thirties by drilling Pathirana for four first ball of his night.

Jadeja with his familiar skiddy deliveries. And Marsh is through his pull too early. How often do you see a wicket just after a Time Out. The partnership between Pant and Marsh had just touched 50 in 32 balls, but there you have it.

Ayush Badoni at No. 5, who has been in good touch recently, now has to tackle purple-cap holder Noor and Jadeja from the two ends. Pant keeps sweeping as the eleventh over begins with LSG 79/3

Pant's start to the season may have been forgettable but with the team in a good position, the cracks have been papered over. But with Markram and Pooran falling very early, today would be a day for Pant to play the long innings. He's started well, improvising a reverse lap over third man among a few more contorted pulls and cuts early on.

With in-form Mitchell Marsh already quick to get 27 in his first 19 balls, it appears an LSG recovery is on!

Sorry for the slightly deceptive post title to make the rhyme. Pooran did get some runs, but only eight. Anshul Kamboj bending his back from around the wicket traps him. When the umpire gave Pooran not out, Kamboj was adamant that there was a chance, and Dhoni with a smile took it. Paid off well, and now it's Rishabh Pant. He's yet to face a ball so we'll talk about Pant's batting in the next post.

Oh man, Rahul Tripathi may not have been among runs this season but he's still a lightning bolt on the field.

We were just discussing CSK's catching woes and they've got one out in the first over itself. Tripathi had to run a long distance after turning around from cover to take a catch running towards the boundary.

The wicket was set up by in-form Khaleel getting a back of a length ball to go across Markram, and forcing a leading edge.

But it only brings in the season's best batter so far, Nicholas Pooran.

Pooran, interestingly, has struggled against R Ashwin (3 outs, average 13, SR 93) in the IPL but the spinner is not playing. But Pooran has very bad numbers against Noor Ahmad too (3 outs in six inns, ave 6.7, SR 54).

It's too early for Noor usually to be introduced. But is it worth a gamble?

Many of us think Dhoni has a magic wand. But Stephen Fleming, the head coach, has said that he's human and expecting overnight success is unreasonable.

But CSK are in that dangerous territory already. And knowing a target tonight might be a good thing for them, but one thing they'd want to improve is fielding.

They dropped Rajat Patidar, Nitish Rana, KL Rahul and Priyansh Arya at low scores before they went on to put big numbers. With guys like Marsh and Pooran in the form they're in, drops could be game enders.

Chennai Super Kings stand-in captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to field against Rishabh Pant's Lucknow Super Giants on Monday.

"Blessed," Dhoni said, about the sea of yellow at the Ekana Stadium, after winning the toss. He wanted to bowl first because of chances of dew later. He said the team was looking for consistency from the batters and better powerplay bowling performances. Shaik Rasheed and Overton come into the team, in place of Conway and Ashwin. Rasheed, who usually is a No. 4 in T20s, could open.

Pant confirmed that Mitchell Marsh was back into the XI after going home for a short while. Himmat Singh goes out of the team. He wanted the openers to continue their form.

The teams are playing on pitch no. 5 today, which is the centre wicket. There are square boundaries of 66 metres on both sides and 73 metres straight. The pitch is a mix of 70% red soil and 30% black soil, so it won't be very slow and some runs should be available.

CSK are looking to break a five-game losing streak while LSG are trying to make it five wins in a row.