Chennai Super Kings (CSK), on Monday (April 14), registered a much-needed win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to get back to winning ways in the ongoing IPL 2025.
The win ended the five-match losing streak for the five-time IPL winners. Things have not gone well for Chennai Super Kings so far.
Chennai lost 5 games in a row
Their campaign started with a win over the Mumbai Indians before they lost five games in a row.
They also suffered a huge injury setback with their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, getting ruled out of the tournament owing to an elbow injury.
After Gaikwad was ruled out, Chennai Super Kings named MS Dhoni as their captain. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK suffered a crushing loss at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders at home before bouncing back with a win over LSG.
While it was not a very clinical effort from the Chennai-based outfit, they still managed to finish on the right side of the result.
Batting first, LSG scored 166/7 in the allotted 20 overs. While the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, and Mitchell Marsh failed to score big, captain Rishabh Pant finally played a big knock.
The under-pressure wicketkeeper-batsman scored 63 runs to help his team post a competitive total.
MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube seal the deal for Chennai Super Kings
In reply, Chennai Super Kings chased down the total with three balls remaining. Shaik Rasheed and Rachin Ravindra gave Chennai a good start by adding 52 runs for the opening wicket before LSG took some wickets in quick succession.
At the end of the 15th over, Chennai Super Kings were reeling at 111/5 and were staring down the barrel. However, Dhoni and Shivam Dube shared an unbeaten stand of 57 runs to take Chennai home. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 26 off 11 balls while Dube scored 43 not out.
How can CSK qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs?
Even though Chennai Super Kings beat LSG, they are still at the bottom of the points table with just two wins and five losses. While their chances of progressing ahead of the league stage are very bleak, they are still in contention to make it to the playoffs.
With seven more league games left, CSK can revive their campaign and make it to the next stage if they manage to win at least five games.
In the past seasons, 7 or 8 wins were enough to secure a playoff spot, and CSK can secure a passage to the next round if they manage to turn things around.
Last season, RCB qualified for the playoffs with seven wins, although Chennai Super Kings missed out, even though they had seven wins too. CSK missed out due to net run-rate and will be looking to make amends this season.