Chennai Super Kings finally ended their losing streak in IPL 2025 with a five-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday. It was a good game for the visitors as they restricted LSG to 166 for 7 after opting to bowl first. In the chase, the five-time champions reached home in 19.3 overs, thanks to Shivam Dube’s 43 not out. CSK registered a win after suffering five consecutive defeats in the edition. Notably, this was just the second game for CSK in IPL 2025 with MS Dhoni leading the side.
From bowling rotation to field placements, everything was impressive from the legendary captain. He also effected a run-out, did one stumping and took a catch, apart from scoring 26 not out off 11 with the bat.
After the game, former Australia captain Michael Clarke heaped praises on the new CSK captain. Notably, Dhoni is leading the five-time champions as regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of IPL due to an elbow fracture. Dhoni had led the side to record-equalling five titles before handing over the responsibilities to Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024.
“The best thing that happened tonight was MS Dhoni’s captaincy. It was phenomenal. He read the situation, he adjusted to the conditions, he bowled his spinners in tandem, exactly like MS Dhoni has done his entire career. He got them on, they rushed through the overs, they changed the pace of the game, they used the surface, they picked up wickets. I just think his experience out there on the field was defining tonight as captain,” Clarke told Star Sports.
Impressed by Dhoni’s wicketkeeping skills, Clarke said that the 43-year-old is still the “best wicketkeeper in the world”.
On the wicketkeeping front, Dhoni has been really impressive with his lightning fast hands behind the stumps.
“It’s always loud when MS Dhoni’s in town. Look, his keeping does not surprise me. I’ve said it before, in my opinion, he’s still the best wicketkeeper in the world. It’s phenomenal how consistent he’s been over a long period of time. I thought his captaincy was spot on tonight as well, the way he used both spinners through the middle, got through overs quick, built some pressure,” said the former Australia captain.
Despite the victory on Monday, CSK continue to hold the bottom spot in the table with 4 points from 7 games. Their net run rate is -1.276. They face Mumbai Indians next at the Wankhede Stadium on April 20.
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