Chennai Super Kings ended their losing streak in IPL 2025 with a thrilling win over Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. Shivam Dube was the top performer with the bat with skipper MS Dhoni providing the perfect knock to clinch the victory. Chasing 167, Dube and Dhoni stitched together a brilliant partnership that proved to be the difference-maker. Dube has now revealed how Dhoni masterminded the chase and even predicted the tactic that LSG skipper Rishabh Pant may opt for. Pant did not go for spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the death overs despite his good numbers – something that Dhoni predicted.
“Some things Mahi bhai told me – there was one over left for Bishnoi – so I was there in the end, because he told me that if you play till the end, he won’t bowl, so from our side, he was hitting the fast bowlers really well – and I used that as well,” Dube said in the interview.
Former India allrounder Sanjay Bangar reflected on MS Dhoni’s physical condition and his finishing ability after Chennai Super Kings snapped a five-match winless streak and said the wicketkeeper, despite not being in his best physical shape, pushed through and “found the strength to come out and perform.”
After Rachin Ravindra and debutant Shaik Rashid got CSK off to a superb start in the chase of 167, CSK’s momentum was snatched back with Lucknow Super Giants’ spinners growing into the game. But Dhoni provided a much-needed blitz with his quickfire 26 not out off just 11 balls, along with Shivam Dube’s 37-ball 43 not out, to pull the game back in CSK’s favour as the visitors secured the five-wicket victory over LSG in Lucknow.
“MS Dhoni was not in his best physical shape. Towards the end of the innings, we saw him limping a little while collecting balls down the leg side. But he still pushed through and found the strength to come out and perform the way he did. Between the wickets, he wasn’t running fluently—he was struggling. But, as always, he kept his cool and stitched together that partnership.
“The closer it gets, the more difficult it becomes, the chances of (the opposition) making a mistake increase. That’s where MS Dhoni is so good—he sneaks it in towards the very end and finished the match brilliantly, snatching victory from the grasp of the Lucknow Super Giants,” Bangar said on JioHotstar.
(With IANS inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
