MS Dhoni will be back for IPL 2025, said former India and CSK opener Robin Uthappa, after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were eliminated from the IPL 2024. Royal Challengers Bengaluru showed the exit door to CSK after defeating them by 27 runs in Bengaluru on Saturday night.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the CSK captain, won the toss and chose to field first. Virat Kohli (47 in 29) and Faf du Plessis (54 in 39) combined for 78 runs in the opening ten overs. After a rain break, RCB struggled to gather momentum, but Rajat Patidar (41 in 23) and Cameron Green (38* in 17) wreaked havoc on CSK’s bowling in the middle overs.
Then cameos from Glenn Maxwell (16 in 5) and Dinesh Karthik (14 in 6) helped RCB reach 218/5 after 20 overs. Shardul Thakur was CSK’s leading bowler with two wickets, but he gave 61 runs in four overs.
CSK began poorly, losing Ruturaj Gaikwad for a golden duck and Daryl Mitchell for four runs. However, Rachin Ravindra’s 61 in 37 balls, combined with Ajinkya Rahane’s 33 in 22, enabled CSK to regain contention.
However, the RCB acted fast, disqualifying Ravindra and Rahane, as well as Shivam Dube (7) and Mitchell Santner (3). Santner could have been an issue for RCB, but captain Faf du Plessis’ brilliance kept him out.
In the end, despite Ravindra Jadeja’s (42* in 22) and MS Dhoni’s (25 in 13) best efforts to reach the playoff qualifying mark of 200 runs, Dhoni’s wicket in the final over by Yash Dayal proved deadly, as CSK finished on 191/7 and lost by 27 runs.
“I don’t think we have seen the last of MS Dhoni” – Robin Uthappa
MS Dhoni hit the first delivery of the final over bowled by Yash Dayal for a 110m-six. However, he was dismissed in the very next delivery while trying to hit another one into the stands. After CSK lost the game, MS Dhoni went to the dressing room instead of shaking hands with RCB players.
Robin Uthappa, who ended his IPL career playing for CSK under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, refused to believe that this was the legendary cricketer’s swansong.
“I don’t think we have seen the last of MS. He is not someone who takes these things lightly. He will come back roaring for sure. Even with the narrative, I have seen him bat only in the last 4 or 5 overs, there is a reason for it.
“He had a calf injury which they initially thought perhaps was a niggle, but it was a little more grave than that. Because of that, he had to manage himself and often has he does, in international cricket and for CSK, he figured out a way to be useful and contribute to CSK,” Uthappa told JioCinema.
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