Dhoni, Noor and Jadeja snap CSK's losing streak

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were staring at the prospect of a sixth loss in a row when MS Dhoni joined Shivam Dube with five overs left in the chase and 56 to get. But Dhoni won the battle against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamers with an unbeaten 11-ball 26 while Dube made 43 not out in 27 to give CSK their second win in seven outings at IPL 2025.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant said right after the game that LSG were "10-15 runs short" after being asked to bat. Despite Pant's own 49-ball 63, his first half-century in LSG colours, they scored only 166 for 7 in 20 overs, their lowest total of the season. They were pegged back by Ravindra Jadeja's two wickets and kept in check by Noor Ahmad's miserly four overs that went for only 13 runs.

After CSK's opening partnership put them on course, LSG dragged the game back with their spinners. Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, and part-time offspinner Aiden Markram produced combined figures of 11-0-66-4, but a 19-run over from Shardul Thakur in the 19th ended LSG's hopes.

When Dhoni walked out after 15 overs, Dube had made only 17 in his first 20 balls. Dube had failed to boss the spinners like he usually does and the dismissals of Vijay Shankar and Jadeja had only added to the pressure.

But Dhoni enjoys pace - he came into the game with a strike rate of 222 against quicks since IPL 2024, and LSG supplied him with just that. Despite one over of Bishnoi left, LSG went for Avesh Khan and Thakur, and their wide-yorker plan ended up being too predictable.

Dhoni edged a couple of fours down to deep third but showed his power by punching a boundary through the covers, flicking a full toss over midwicket, and dragging a one-handed six over deep square-leg.

He also ran his ones and twos, sometimes gingerly, with Dube and took the pressure off his partner. When Thakur bowled two full tosses at the start of the 19th over, Dube smacked him for four and six, the second of a no-ball.

Dhoni picked up his first IPL Player-of-the-Match award since 2019 and Dube, soon after hitting the winning runs, said he was pleased about taking the game deep. Their partnership of 57 came in only 28 balls.

Shaik Rasheed's ability was never in doubt. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning vice-captain, has a Syed Mushtaq Ali century, and a double-century in first-class cricket. It's for those reasons CSK have kept a close eye on him since IPL 2023.

With Devon Conway not among the runs, CSK gave Rasheed an IPL debut and he took strike to start the chase. By the second over, he had pumped three fours off Akash Deep, with one flick over midwicket described on the broadcast as "Virat Kohli like".

His 19-ball 27 with six fours helped CSK reach fifty in only 4.2 overs, and alongside Rachin Ravindra's 22-ball 37, gave them a rare successful opening stand. Those runs proved crucial as a collapse against spin followed.

With a strike rate of 80 and a high score of 21 this season, Pant needed to do something big. He walked out in the fourth over with Markram and Nicholas Pooran out to Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj respectively for low scores.

He started on a positive note, improvising a reverse lap over short third early for six along with a handful of pulls and cuts. But his strike rate of 165 plummeted to 103 when CSK's spinners applied the squeeze. Pant saw wickets at from the other end, and ended up playing ten dots in 15 balls against Noor, scoring only six runs. His strike rate of 40 against the Purple Cap holder ended up being the second worst for any batter against a bowler in IPL (minimum 15 balls).

However, after 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He couldn't stay till the end, though, and the CSK spinners' effort ensured LSG could make only 166 on a day where their second-highest individual score was Mitchell Marsh's 30.