In what might have been his last home game in the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a disappointing six-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday. Despite losing their first three wickets for 33 runs, KKR chased down the target of 145 with relative ease, thanks to unbeaten half-centuries from Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh. Rana top-scored with 57 off 44 balls, while Rinku made 54 off 43 deliveries to set up KKR’s victory with nine balls to spare.
Following the match, Dhoni and the CSK players did a lap around the Chepauk to thank the fans, with former India captain Sunil Gavaskar taking the opportunity to approach Dhoni for his autograph. After receiving Dhoni’s signature on his shirt, Gavaskar joked on-air, “Please give me a new pink shirt for the remaining games.”
The defeat leaves CSK’s chances of sealing a playoff berth in doubt, as they are currently in second place with 15 points. KKR, on the other hand, moved to 12 points with one match remaining, but their playoff hopes depend on other results.
The match was dominated by the spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, who picked up two wickets each to restrict CSK to a below-par total of 144 for six. Shivam Dube top-scored for CSK with an unbeaten 48 off 34 balls, but he received little support from his teammates.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhoni admitted that the dew had a significant impact on the game. “The dew made a big difference in the second innings. We can’t really blame any of our bowlers. Just that the conditions had a big impact on the game,” he said.
While the defeat was disappointing for CSK, the focus was on Dhoni, who did a special lap of honor around the Chepauk to thank the fans for their support. Dhoni’s future in the IPL remains uncertain, with many speculating that this might be his last season as a player. However, the CSK captain gave little away about his plans, leaving fans to speculate about what the future holds for one of the greatest players in the history of Indian cricket.
