For the first time in IPL history, CSK have lost three straight games at Chepauk
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have recorded some new lows in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chepauk for the first time since the inaugural 2008 season.
On Friday, the five-time champions recorded their lowest total at the Chepauk as defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) managed to restrict them to 103/9.
Ajinkya Rahane’s side sped through the chase in 10.1 overs and wrapped their third win of the season with eight wickets in hand. It inflicted CSK’s third consecutive defeat at Chepauk for the first time ever.
Not only that, CSK also lost five matches in a row for the first time in IPL history.
Former RCB and India batting coach Sanjay Bangar felt that there is a clear lack of confidence within the team, which was evident from their batting.
“It’s hard to explain why it’s happening, but it says that at the moment the team is in tatters, if that is the right word,” Bangar said on ESPNCricinfo’s Timeout show.
The former fast-bowling all-rounder felt that CSK’s decision to send in Deepak Hooda as the Impact Player substitution after being reduced to 71/6 instead in the first innings, shows their dressing room is low on confidence.
“I think they are all low in confidence. Not just one or two batters, but even the Impact Sub Deepak Hooda when he came in,” Bangar added.
However, Bangar felt that there was logic behind sending Hooda at No.8 and Dhoni coming in at No.9, but he felt that the decision to promote Ravichandran Ashwin before Ravindra Jadeja was bizarre.
“I understand why they did that (sending Dhoni at No.9). They probably wanted to send in Deepak Hooda and get to score around 140. But they had no runs on the board. But what I don’t understand is the Ashwin call by sending him in ahead of Jadeja,” Bangar said.
“He is known to be a good sweeper of the ball and it was expected that he would come and disrupt things a bit. But instead of disrupting things, he came and batted just like every other batter,” he added.
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He felt that CSK got all things wrong about their batting against KKR as they crumbled to a massive defeat.
“If you look at Noor (Ahmad) blocking the ball to give the strike to Shivam Dube but then Dube taking a single and then Noor gets out. This tells you that, at the moment, the team is not thinking right,” he said.
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