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Chennai Super Kings made a few changes in their batting and bowling lineup before beating Lucknow Super Giants on Monday night.
Ravichandran Ashwin played in first six matches and took five wickets. (BCCI Photo)
Chennai Super Kings are back to winning ways. After a historic streak of five defeats in a row, CSK finally got their second win of IPL 2025 thanks to an all-round show against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. The five-time IPL champions made a couple of key changes to their playing XI. They dropped spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and top-order batter Devon Conway and replaced them with fast bowler Jamie Overton and debutant Shaik Rasheed.
CSK kept LSG to 166/7 and chased down the target in 19.3 overs for a five-wicket win. During the post-match presentation, Dhoni, while admitting CSK bowlers have fared better than batters so far, also touched upon the decision behind dropping veteran Ashwin from the eleven.
Ashwin was part of CSK XI for their first six matches in which he picked up five wickets at an economy of 9.9. Dhoni said the 38-year-old was being put under pressure on wickets that were more friendly for the batters.
“We made a few changes because we wanted to make sure that our first-six overs (Powerplay) are slightly better,” Dhoni said on Monday. “We need more bowlers in the first six. We were actually putting too much pressure on Ash. He has to bowl two overs on a wicket that was not doing a lot, and the batsmen were just expressing themselves.”
“We made a few changes where we could’ve mor bowlers who could bowl in the first six overs. I feel this looks like a better attack. There’s more maneuverability for the captain. As a bowling unit we’ve done well. As a batting unit, we can do even better,” he added.
When asked about his own batting spot that has been a subject of red-hot debate, Dhoni said players have been given specific roles based on their strengths.
“Roles and responsibilities – that’s what we talk about,” Dhoni said. “Because we are losing wickets maybe at the wrong time, somebody else has to perform other kind of role. If you get off to a good start, and you’re someone who can play through the innings, then why not? Others can keep on doing their job.”
“There’s no point somebody who can accelerate has to build a partnership. That makes it tough for him. We practice according to that. You may in a team you are supposed adapt, do different kind of roles but if you are given a certain role and are good at it, why you want to become somebody else who is looking to hit sixes and fours. Just be consistent, let the other guys do their job,” he added.
