Chennai Super Kings icon and stand-in captain MS Dhoni pointed to fielding errors and dropped catches as the key reasons behind his side’s exit from the IPL 2025 playoffs race. After CSK lost their must-win clash against Punjab Kings on April 30, Dhoni emphasised how the team needed to be sharper in the field and more clinical with their catching to stand a better chance this season.
Despite a strong batting effort led by Sam Curran’s blazing 88 off 47 balls, supported by Dewald Brevis, CSK’s total of 190 failed to hold up. PBKS chased it down with four wickets in hand, thanks to captain Shreyas Iyer’s composed 72 and Prabhsimran Singh’s crucial 54. Post-match, Dhoni noted that while Curran and Brevis stitched a crucial 78-run stand, the lack of finishing power and poor fielding cost CSK dearly throughout the campaign.
IPL 2025, CSK vs PBKS: Highlights
“I think the batting, yes, it was the first time that we put a good total on the board. But was it the par score,? No. We could have got more runs. But it was a great partnership that from Curran and Brevis,” Dhoni said.
“I feel we have to take catches. It will help us slow down the opposition. From the batting unit, it was a good effort. But if you see, we didn’t face the last four balls when we were batting and we lost four wickets in the 19th over. 7 balls makes a big difference in a T20 game,” he added.
After a promising start with Curran rescuing CSK from early trouble, the hosts looked set to push past 200. However, a late collapse triggered by Yuzvendra Chahal’s second IPL hattrick halted their charge at 190.
Chasing 191, PBKS maintained control right from the 44-run opening partnership between Prabhsimran and Priyansh Arya. Shreyas Iyer then anchored the innings to complete the chase, officially ending CSK’s mathematical hopes of reaching the playoffs — even with four games still left in their league campaign.
