Former Chennai Super Kings batter Ambati Rayudu admitted that CSK may not be able to make it to the IPL 2025 playoffs.
If anyone asks what Chennai Super Kings’ biggest issue is in IPL 2025, the answer would be simple: batting. That CSK have tried out six players in multiple combinations in the Top 4 tells you a lot. Their batting was once again exposed in the MI vs CSK match at the Wankhede Stadium. Even CSK’s biggest fan, Ambati Rayudu, can’t stop complaining about that.
With just 48/1 in powerplay and 55 runs more till the 14th over, CSK failed to get to a par score. Their 176/5 was never going to be enough despite Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube scoring their first fifties of IPL 2025. He called CSK’s batting against Mumbai Indians below-par with no intent after MS Dhoni & Co slumped to a 9-wicket loss at the Wankhede, their 6th defeat of IPL 2025.
“It was below-par batting. There was no intent in the middle overs. You can’t play that way in T20s any more. You are taking a single and waiting for a loose ball next. That’s not the way. I felt there was no intent. People used to fear CSK’s batting because they used to come in with a lot of intent. They will have to step it up in the next few games,” Ambati Rayudu said on Star Sports in the post-match show.
Rayudu admitted that CSK may not be able to bounce back this season and make it to the IPL playoffs. “I don’t see them coming back this season,” he added.
CSK’s batting problem
So far, CSK have used different players in Top 4 with the same result. CSK have a run rate of just 8.22 in the powerplay in IPL 2025, one of the lowest. In the middle-overs, that run rate dips down to 7.30, the lowest in this edition of IPL. It was evident in MI vs CSK clash.
With Shaik Rasheed struggling to hit big shots, CSK’s first boundary came in the last ball of third over. By then, many teams have scored 50. While the Wankhede pitch was not that easy to bat on, Rasheed’s struggles compounded the issue when Rachin Ravindra fell for 5 off 9 balls. CSK had already consumed 14 dot balls in the first six overs.
17-year-old debutant Ayush Mhatre did show intent, hitting two boundaries and as many sixes in his first six deliveries. But he was the only one doing the heavy lifting. Rasheed had just a single boundary in his 20-ball stay.
Poor middle-overs
With Mhatre and Rasheed falling in quick succession, Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube went into their cocoons, trying to rebuild the innings. CSK went 30 balls without any boundaries with two senior players on the crease in the middle-overs. By the end of 14th over, Dube was batting at 109 strike rate while Jadeja was going at a run-a-ball. CSK scored at a 6.90 run rate till the 14th over.
Dube ended up with 32-ball 50 while Jadeja scored an unbeaten 35-ball 53. However, despite accelarating in the last five overs, CSK left it too late. Stand-in captain MS Dhoni admitted that the team’s batting was not up to the mark and CSK were well short of a par score at the Wankhede Stadium with the dew incoming.
“I think we were quite below par. We all knew that dew would come in the second half, and we were in a position to exploit the middle overs. I felt once they started their death bowling early, that was the time we should have capitalised and started our slog slightly early. It would have been a plus point had Bumrah also gone for runs. We could have got slightly more runs. We needed those runs because 175 with the dew around is not a par score,” Dhoni said.
