Dhoni managed to score 12 off 8 deliveries against RCB.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a narrow two-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match 52 of the IPL 2025 season at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday (May 3).
Chasing 214 to win, CSK came really close to beating RCB, thanks to Ayush Mhatre's 94 off 48 and Ravindra Jadeja's 77 not out off 45, but they faltered towards the end.
The five-time champions needed 15 off the last over with Jadeja and skipper MS Dhoni at the crease, but Yash Dayal held his nerves to seal the deal for RCB.
The left-arm quick trapped Dhoni in front of the wickets on the third delivery. While Shivam Dube hit the fourth delivery -- a no-ball -- for six, Dayal conceded only singles in last three balls to replicate his last year’s heroics against CSK.
After the game, CSK skipper MS Dhoni took the blame for his team not being able to score 35 runs off the last three overs.
Dhoni, who walked out to bat in the 17th over, managed to score 12 off 8 deliveries with one maximum.
"Well, I think looking at [that] over, when I went into that with the kind of deliveries and the runs needed, I felt I should have converted maybe a couple of more shots, and that would have eased the pressure. So, I would take the blame for it," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
After being asked to bat first, RCB racked up a mammoth 213/5 on the board, courtesy of half-centuries from Virat Kohli (62 off 33 balls), Jacob Bethell (55 off 33 balls) and Romario Shepherd (53* off 14 balls)
"Other than that, I thought they got off to a good start. In between, we pulled it back," Dhoni said. "But Romario Shepherd, in the death overs, was brilliant. Whatever our bowlers were bowling, he was able to get maximum runs."
Dhoni mentioned that CSK's bowlers needed to execute yorkers in a better way to keep the RCB batters in check during the death overs.
"I think we need to practise more yorkers because if you see more often than not, when the batsman starts to connect, then you have to rely on yorkers and the margin of error," Dhoni said. "So, if you're looking for a perfect yorker, [and] if that doesn't happen, a low full toss is the next best thing because it's one of the most difficult balls to hit. So, I think that's where we need to improve.
"And somebody like a [Matheesha] Pathirana, you know, if the yorkers are not happening, he has got pace. He can bowl a bouncer at the same time, [and] keep the batsman guessing. Because, at times, if he's looking for the yorker, batsmen try to line him up, and if he misses, the batsman has a chance of hitting."
It was CSK’s ninth defeat in 11 matches this season and they continue to languish at the bottom of the 10-team points table, having already been knocked out of the playoffs race.
On the other hand, RCB climbed to top of the table with this victory. They need one more win from the remaining three league fixtures to qualify for the playoffs.