MS Dhoni batted at no.5 and Uthappa wants the legend to come up further in CSK order.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their fourth consecutive loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) on Tuesday, following their season-opening victory. CSK once again failed to chase a total of over 180 runs.
The 18-run loss to Punjab Kings follows CSK's previous losses of 25 runs to Delhi Capitals, six runs to Rajasthan Royals, and 50 runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru this season.
PBKS had batted first in Chandigarh and posted 219/6 in 20 overs on the back of 103 by Priyansh Arya and 52* by Shashank Singh. In response, despite 69 by Devon Conway and 42 by Shivam Dube, CSk fell short, scoring only 201/5 in 20 overs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the seasoned chase master for CSK, faltered once more during the encounter. Dhoni stepped into the middle, with CSK requiring 59 runs from 18 balls. While Dhoni scored 27 off 12 balls (with a strike rate of 227) and blasted three sixes on the night, it was insufficient.
Following the defeat against the Punjab Kings, former India cricketer Robin Uthappa commented on MS Dhoni's aim and changing role at Chennai Super Kings.
“I don’t think there was ever a lack of intent from MS Dhoni. Even outside the IPL, I believe Dhoni has passed on responsibility to others and given them a clear understanding of what to expect in the coming years as CSK rebuilds into a championship-contending side. That transition is happening, and while we would love to see MS bat the way he is right now, perhaps a little higher up the order, I don’t think the problem lies at the end,” Uthappa told JioCinema.
Robin Uthappa also talked about CSK’s poor chasing capabilities.
“They started well, scoring almost 9.8 or 9.9 runs per over, which is as good as you can expect with the kind of openers they have. But you can’t let the game slip in the middle overs, especially when chasing a big total. Approach in the overs from 7 to 12 were very quiet. You need big overs right after the power play to keep the pressure on the opposition. Winning the powerplay is one thing, but owning the middle overs is what wins you games, and they failed to do that, again. In the last two overs, they needed 42 runs, which is just too many. Had they managed a couple of 15 to 20 run overs in the middle, that equation could have come down to needing just 22 to 25 runs at the end. The intent just wasn’t there,” said Uthappa.
The game for CSK will be at home when they face KKR on April 11 in Chennai.