Chennai Super Kings (CSK) snapped their five-match losing streak in the ongoing IPL 2025 season with a much-needed victory against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on a slow track at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium on Monday. Despite this victory, CSK's performance was far from flawless, and stand-in skipper MS Dhoni emphasized that the team still has a lot of areas to improve, particularly in the batting department. However, Dhoni was pleased with the team’s bowling performance, which played a pivotal role in their triumph.

One of the key tactical changes made by CSK was in their bowling attack. Dhoni made some significant adjustments to the line-up, including bringing in Jamie Overton and Anshul Kamboj while opting to rest Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin had been somewhat ineffective in the tournament, particularly in the powerplay overs, where he had been leaking runs. With an economy rate of 9.90 and only five wickets in six matches, Ashwin was under pressure to perform, and Dhoni admitted that the team was asking too much from the veteran off-spinner.

In the post-match presentation, Dhoni explained, "We made a few changes because we wanted to make sure our first six overs are slightly better because we need more bowlers in the first six. We were actually putting too much pressure on Ash. He has bowled two overs on wickets that were not doing a lot, and the batsmen were just expressing themselves."

To mitigate this pressure, CSK introduced Overton and Kamboj, adding more pace options to the team’s arsenal for the powerplay. Dhoni noted that even if the fast bowlers conceded runs, there was the added flexibility of bringing in Noor Ahmad for a one-over spell to contain the run flow. Dhoni added, "I feel this looks like a better attack, there’s more maneuverability for the captain." This tactical change provided CSK with the necessary balance and more options in the powerplay.

Despite their solid bowling effort, CSK’s batting still had moments of inconsistency. Chasing 168, CSK got off to a blazing start with Shaik Rasheed and Rachin Ravindra firing at the top of the order. However, the middle-order collapse saw the visitors slip from 74/1 to 94/4 in the span of just over four overs, which created some tension in the chase. Fortunately, Shivam Dube and Dhoni’s own unbeaten 26 off 11 balls helped CSK finish strong, securing a vital win and keeping their hopes alive in the tournament.

Dhoni remains hopeful, but he reiterated that while CSK's bowling unit had done well, the batting would need to improve further for the team to perform consistently throughout the season. The changes in the bowling department, including the relief of pressure on Ashwin, proved effective, but it is clear that CSK still has work to do to return to their full potential.

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