- April 25, 2025
MS Dhoni is about to play his 400th T20 match — no doubt a remarkable achievement, and one only a few cricketers in history have reached. But don’t start the streamers. Dhoni’s CSK team, with SRH, is in real danger of missing the IPL 2025 Super 4 stage entirely. Both teams have just two wins and are scraping by, and the scrape may be closer to Dhoni’s threshold for poor fielding.
It’s the ideal circumstance of nostalgia and nerves — a hero of the game approaching a historic number while his team frays on form. With six remaining games on the schedule, each delivery is an assault on the senses and feels like a do-or-die moment. This is more than just the last phase of the league — it is the make-or-break phase of the season. Welcome to the most pressurized zone of the IPL.
The Dhoni Dilemma: Milestone Moment, Crisis Context
MS Dhoni’s 400th game should have been a celebration instead. CSK’s fans are left chewing their nails to the bone, trying to digest how their season ended so unexpectedly. The once-proud Yellow Brigade has become a remixed version of itself, changing their playing eleven with all the excitement of a science experiment. They’ve already thrown 20 players out of 27, and no, this isn’t a plan to rotate multiple players; it’s panic.
Dhoni is still the glue-captain, keeper, mentor – but he is not the finisher he was. But without a top order or reliable middle overs, CSK batting resembles a ticking time bomb. There are no more Rahane or Badrinath types to calmly respond to the early loss of wickets. Instead, fragile raw talent like Ayush Mhatre is being fast-tracked to capital-P pressure.
SRH’s Powerhouse Turned Puzzle
If CSK is only a shell of their former selves, SRH is a complete mystery. A year ago, their batting order was setting records and making 250+ scores look easy. Fast forward to this season, and that same batting firepower has disappeared. Even the addition of Ishan Kishan, who was supposed to bolster the top order, hasn’t made a difference. It’s as if the entire top order hit the snooze button together.
What’s SRH’s best chance in Chennai? Bringing Rahul Chahar in as he has a good record, particularly against CSK’s mainstays, Dhoni, Jadeja, and Dube. Chepauk may have a spin-friendly surface, giving them a glimmer of hope.
Pressure Cooker at Chepauk
Let’s not forget that Chepauk was a stronghold for CSK. Their home win percentage used to be 68 percent. This season? Just 25 percent. Even RCB and DC have won here. So, SRH can break their Chennai jinx (they’ve never beaten CSK here before), which can’t be considered too surprising.
Then there is the small matter of tactics. CSK can maybe keep Matheesha Pathirana for Heinrich Klaasen – the Lankan fast man is 3/3 against him in 22 balls. Or SRH can go after CSK’s biggest area of concern – CSK have been struggling against spin – Jadeja and Dube have had the lowest strike rates against spin this season.
Whatever it is, it’s not just another league match. This is a junction. And it is at this junction, just maybe. where one or the other recollects themselves.
Can it be CSK rising from the ashes? Or will it be SRH finally cracking the Chennai code? Let the dramas begin!
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