But following the game, MS Dhoni, the captain of CSK, made headlines for his gesture. He considered his team’s poor performance, which had persisted throughout the 2025 Indian Premier League. Surprisingly, he accepted responsibility for the defeat instead of placing the blame on the other players.
The current Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) match 52 went right down to the wire and was a complete humdinger. Notably, on Saturday, May 3, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) played home to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Bengaluru’s famed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
CSK got off to a scorching start after being given a difficult target of 214 runs, but Shaik Rasheed was removed with the score at 51. Then came the Ayush Mhatre performance, which almost lost out on a well-earned century. Ravindra Jadeja, an all-rounder, dug in at one end, but CSK continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. They lost the match by barely two runs as a result of failing to cross the finish line in the last stages of the game.
According to Dhoni, he might have changed the outcome by using the bat more frequently and turning singles or dot balls into boundaries. As a result, this might have reduced the burden on the team during the run pursuit. He also praised Romario Shepherd, whose vicious hitting utterly destroyed CSK’s bowling.
“I will accept responsibility for it because I felt I should have relaxed the strain and converted a few more shots. During the post-match presentation, Dhoni stated, “Shepher was outstanding in the final overs; he could hit anything we bowled for the most runs.”
He also emphasised how crucial it is to execute yorkers flawlessly in order to make batters’ lives more difficult, particularly under duress. He used Matheesha Pathirana as an example, claiming that the pacer has enough variations to keep the opponents at bay. He is likely to go for large runs, though, if he is unable to hit the yorkers against a batter who is well-set.
Dhoni emphasises batting teachings and bowling difficulties.
Additionally, MS Dhoni claimed that his batters were not practiced in unconventional shots like the paddle sweep. He believed that other batters still needed to catch up, even though Ravindra Jadeja occasionally plays it. He concluded by stating that in order for the team to become a stronger one, it must learn from these experiences.
“More yorker practice is required. You have to rely on the yorkers most of the time when the hitters begin to connect. The low full throw is the greatest alternative if you can’t perfect the yorker. Pathirana, for example, has the speed and ability to bowl the bouncer. If he misses the yorker, the batter still has a chance to hit it,” the CSK captain went on.
“Not every batter can play that shot (the paddle) with ease. In the current period, it is something that batters must practise. However, the majority of our batters find it difficult to play. Jadeja was backing his shots down the ground more when he made the shot. In the area of batting, we were a little behind. However, I think the batting performed really well today as a department,” Dhoni said.
India
