Dhoni says CSK 'need to take some catches' after falling 'slightly short'

The total of 190 was "slightly short of par" and his team needs "to take more catches" was how Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni summed up his team's performance in the five-wicket loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS), which knocked CSK out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race.

"I think the batting, yes, it was the first time when we had put enough runs on the board, but was it a par score? I feel [we were] slightly short," Dhoni said on the broadcast. "I felt we could have got slightly more. That partnership between [Dewald] Brevis and Sam [Curran] was excellent. And I feel we need to take some catches because that really helps to take wickets, you can slow down the opposition. Other than that, I feel from the batting unit as a whole, I felt it was a good effort."

CSK were at one point well on course to post a 200-plus total when the partnership of 78 between Curran and Brevis shot their run rate past ten, placing the team at 126 for 3 after 14 overs. However, Brevis fell at the start of the next over and after Curran was dismissed for 88 off 47 in the 18th, CSK scored only 18 runs off the remaining 14 deliveries. CSK didn't last all 20 overs, though; they were bowled out in 19.2 overs after Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets - including a hat-trick - in the 19th over. They slipped from 172 for 4 to 190 all out, losing six wickets for just 18 runs.

Dhoni said that losing those three wickets to Chahal and not playing out the entire innings made a difference to the outcome. "Not to forget, when it's a high-scoring games, we didn't play the last four deliveries, and the second last over we got four batsmen out, another three deliveries and in close games, seven deliveries means a lot."

CSK's below-par batting performances have been a theme this season. They have the poorest run rate (8.23) so far in this IPL. They brought in changes at the top of the order by replacing senior players with youngsters like Shaik Rasheed (20) and Ayush Mhatre (17), and they lost their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to a shoulder injury early in the season. Some of their batters like Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Rahul Tripathi didn't fire the way they were expected to either.

Dhoni, however, was pleased to see Curran coming good with the bat following three single-digit scores after finally getting the kind of pitch they wanted at home.

"Whenever he turns up, he wants to contribute, whether it's with the bat or with the ball," Dhoni said. "So, unfortunately, so far, when we tried to give him a chance the wicket was on the slower side and he found it slightly difficult. But I felt today's wicket was one of the best that we have got in the tournament when it comes to the home venue. So I feel the wicket was really good and that's the reason I felt we needed another 15 runs."