From the beginning, spin controlled the game at Chepauk. However, the bowlers on the other team were not clad in yellow. Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Moeen Ali effectively limited the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with a combined tally of 6 wickets for 55 runs in 12 overs. Though CSK managed to avoid their lowest ever total in IPL history (79), it was a close call. The additional 24 runs they scored may not be enough for a victory; their lowest T20 score at home still stands at 103.
With Ruturaj Gaikwad sidelined for the season, MS Dhoni resumed his role as captain of his team. In a stroke of luck, he won the toss and chose to bat first. However, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had their own plans in motion. They strategically brought in Moeen for the match-up against CSK’s left-handed batters, and it paid off. Moeen delivered a maiden over and successfully took down Devon Conway.
In the first 17 overs, only five were bowled at a slower pace on the black soil pitch where the ball lacked bounce. The focus was on delivering slower balls into the wicket, resulting in CSK struggling to break free despite their efforts. Their powerplay score of 31 for 2 in IPL 2025 was the second-lowest, with their previous score of 30 for 3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru being the lowest. After the eighth over, they managed to hit only three boundaries, one of which was a top-edge. In an attempt to change things up, Deepak Hooda was brought in as an Impact Player, despite the risk of going in with one less bowler when defending their total. However, this move proved to be unsuccessful as Hooda fell for a duck and unfortunately, another key player, Matheesha Pathirana will be unable to participate in this match.
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At No. 9, MS Dhoni faced a challenging situation with a slip and short leg fielding close to him. He was up against his weak opponents Narine and Chakravarthy, which proved to be detrimental as KKR dismissed him for only 1 run out of 4. Despite Dhoni’s attempt to challenge the lbw decision, the third umpire Vinod Seshan agreed with the on-field ruling, causing coach Stephen Fleming to leave the dugout in search of the reserve umpire. To top it off, Shivam Dube suffered a possible leg injury during the last over of the innings.
