IPL 2025: MS Dhoni says batters need to back themselves after loss against RR

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni admitted they posted a decent score on the board after their six-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi in the ongoing IPL 2025 on Tuesday. CSK posted 187 runs on the board after they were put into bat by RR’s skipper Sanju Samson.

Dhoni admitted that the batters failed to capitalise when they were in front and they lost one or two extra wickets. The Indian veteran also showered praise on Dewald Brevis, who provided the impetus as the South African scored 42 runs off just 25 balls.

MS Dhoni said after the loss, “If you look at the amount of runs we had put on the board, it was very good, but you have to see the wickets column as it puts pressure on the lower-middle order that you might not bat 20 overs. I think Brevis’ innings was very nice, he was taking chances and I feel run-rate was nice, that’s the phase we want to improve slightly. I felt the run-rate was up but where we lacked was losing 1-2 extra wickets.”

The CSK skipper also heaped praise on Anshul Kamboj, who returned with impressive figures of 1-21 in the three overs he bowled as he dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Dhoni added, “Kamboj is someone who doesn’t get swing, but he gets some seam movement, the ball hits you harder than the speed gun suggests, he has taken the responsibility and he is someone who can bowl good yorkers. That’s (powerplay) one area where there’s a hole for us, we don’t want to give away too many runs in the first six overs. He has bowled 3 overs in the powerplay, which I feel is tougher when the ball isn’t moving much and when the batsmen are well set.”

The Indian veteran added it is difficult for the batters to find consistency if they try to play aggressively all the time, but wants them to back themselves.

Dhoni concluded, “I think you need to look for consistency, which is hard to get when you are looking for a 200 strike-rate. The batters need to back themselves. What is important is to be the same way as your first season for all young batters. You need to get more consistent that’s going to help you to develop as a batsman going forward.”

CSK will play their last game of the season against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.