NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings' lack of urgency in a tricky chase cost them dearly as they slumped to a 25-run defeat against Delhi Capitals in their Indian Premier League 2025 clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
Chasing 184, CSK were reeling at 74/5 in 10.4 overs when MS Dhoni walked in — his earliest entry in a full 20-over match since 2023. With 110 needed off 56 balls, he joined Vijay Shankar, who was on 24 off 23. The stage was set for a counterattack, but what followed was a sluggish and baffling passage of play.
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Despite their reputation as big-hitters, Dhoni and Shankar crawled to just 32 runs in the next 4.2 overs. Shankar eventually brought up his fifty in the 17th over off 43 balls — the slowest half-century of the season. Alarmingly, CSK now account for three of the four slowest fifties in IPL 2025, raising concerns over the intent of their batters.
Also See: SRH vs GT, IPL Live Score
Slowest 50s in IPL 2025 (by balls)
43 - V Shankar CSK vs DC in Chennai42 - R Ravindra CSK vs MI in Chennai40 - Y Jaiswal RR vs PBKS in Chandigarh39 - L Livingstone RCB vs GT in Bengaluru37 - R Gaikwad CSK vs RR in Guwahati
Dhoni, too, endured a forgettable outing. His first boundary — a six off Mukesh Kumar — came off the 19th ball he faced, the slowest any batter has taken to hit a boundary in this season. Though the duo added an unbeaten 84-run partnership, it came in 9.2 overs — far too passive to make an impact.
Earlier, KL Rahul anchored Delhi’s innings with a classy 77 off 51 balls to take them to 183/6. With this win, DC remain unbeaten while CSK’s stuttering campaign continues.
