IPL 2025: CSK Stares Down the Barrel at Home.. Yet Again

After the mega auction in December, it was felt that CSK may be found wanting in the batting department.

And after four matches, in which it has come second in 3, the Chennai franchise's lack of firepower has been completely exposed. The worst fears are agonisingly coming true for its legion of fans.

This evening against the resourceful DC it was no different and the Chepauk which was once a citadel for the 5-time IPL champion is no longer the case.

In a lacklustre outing, Delhi Capitals secured an easy 25-run victory over CSK as the local team was never in the chase of 183 for 6. To watch the Chennai team in the death overs of the match was painful as its batsmen couldn't get the big shots going even when the asking rate was climbing like inflation. CSK, for the record, ended at  158 for 5. Vijay Shankar was the lone batsman who looked like scoring, as he ended at 69* off 54 balls. But that was never going to be enough on the night when both Rachin Ravindra and Rituraj Gaikwad, and Devon Convoy fell cheaply at the start of the innings. MS Dhoni flailed his bat ungainly towards the end,  but nothing clicked. 

For Delhi, KL Rahul batted solidly as he was its mainstay in the absence of Faf Du Plessis, who was ruled out due to an injury. Rahul (77 off 51) held the innings together on another typical slugging Chennai pitch.  But Noor Ahmad, Chennai's best bowler so far, had an off day. He went for 36 in his 3 overs with just one wicket to show for his efforts. Abhishek Porel 33 off 20, Sameer Rizvi 20 off 15 and Axar Patel 21 off 14 chipped in to bolster the DC innings.  Khaleel Ahmed looked impressive with figures of 2 for 25 for CSK.

In response, CSK's chase lacked momentum from the start and faltered against DC's disciplined bowling attack. Vipraj Nigam  took two wickets, while Mitchell Starc, Kuldip Yadav and Mukesh Kumar had one each. Rahul was the man of the match for his gritty knock.

With this win, DC continued its unbeaten streak in IPL 2025, solidifying its position at the top of the points table. CSK, on the other hand, faced its third consecutive defeat, raising concerns about its form and strategy as the tournament progresses. 

Gaikwad conceded that things are not really going the team's way. "We're trying our level best in all three departments. I think powerplay is definitely a concern for us - in batting and bowling department."

Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 183 for 6 (Rahul 77, Khaleel 2-25) beat Chennai Super Kings 158 for 5 (Vijay Shankar 69*, Nigam 2-27) by 25 runs