Aakash Chopra on CSK’s strange move

Chennai Super Kings lost their Indian Premier League clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru a whopping margin of 50 runs on Friday. Dhoni walked in to bat with the score reading 99/7 after 15.2 overs. At that stage, the Chennai Super Kings still needed 98 runs in 28 balls for victory. But what was a little intriguing for fans was that CSK management had opted to send Ravichandran Ashwin above Dhoni with the game on the line. In fact, Dhoni was sent in as the No 9 batter CSK.
“CSK fans really love the sight of Dhoni walking into the middle and smashing sixes. But CSK fans must also want their team to win. And with the kind of hitting form that Dhoni has shown off-late, it’s only logical to expect him to give himself enough time to win games for CSK. Ashwin ahead of Dhoni vs RCB didn’t make sense,” former cricketer-turned-analyst Aakash Chopra posted on X.
Ashwin had walked in to bat in the 13th over after Shivam Dube’s wicket when CSK needed 117 runs from 43 balls. Instead, Dhoni came in three overs later when the asking rate was much higher.
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The former CSK captain did hit two sixes and a four in the final over off Krunal Pandya, it was too late to have an impact on the target CSK were chasing.
MS Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings bats in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. (Sportzpics for IPL)
For CSK fans though, the wicketkeeper-batter did show off his magic behind the stumps with the lightning-quick stumping of Phil Salt early in the game.
This 50-run win meant that Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a 17-year-long wait to win at Chepauk. It was RCB’s first success against CSK at MA Chidambaram Stadium since 2008. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the head-to-head was 8-1 in favour of the five-time champions against the Bengaluru franchise.