Can Chennai Super Kings still qualify for IPL 2025 playoffs after nine-wicket loss against Mumbai Indians?
Chennai lost the return leg against their arch-nemesis on Sunday, losing by nine wickets at the Wankhede.
Chennai Super Kings' hopes of carrying the winning momentum from the victory over Lucknow Super Giants last week in Lucknow were crushed as Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav struck unbeaten half-centuries to hand a reality check to MS Dhoni's men. Chennai lost the return leg against their arch-nemesis on Sunday, losing by nine wickets at the Wankhede.
Rohit roared back to form to score an unbeaten 76 and stitched a 114-run stand for the second wicket with Suryakumar, who smashed 68 off 30 balls as Mumbai chased down 177 with 26 balls to spare. The 37-year-old, who came in as an impact sub once again, also put 63 runs together for the opening stand with Ryan Rickleton, who fell for 24 off Ravindra Jadeja, to lay the foundations of Mumbai's third straight win.
On the contrary, Chennai, who are being led by Dhoni in the absence of regular skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had pulled out injured mid-season, crashed to their sixth defeat in eight matches to stay bottom of the 10-team table.
How can Chennai still qualify for IPL 2025 playoffs?
Despite managing just four points from eight matches thus far, Chennai aren't entirely out of the race to make the playoffs yet. Not to forget, Royal Challengers Bengaluru showed last year by making the next round of the league with just 14 points, the first of its kind since the tournament expanded to 10 teams.
Chennai still have fate in their hands, and their only solution at this point is winning all their remaining matches, leaving them with 16 points. However, they also need to ensure that they win by big margins to improve their net run rate, which is currently -1.392 (worst in IPL 2025).
Speaking about their chances of making the playoffs, Dhoni said they must take one game at a time to keep the hope alive.
"What we need to realise is that we are successful because we play good cricket, and at the same time, when we are not playing good cricket, what is important is not to get too emotional about it, and at the same time, you want to be practical," he said.
However, Dhoni also looked at the realistic chances, given how the opening half of the tournament turned out for the five-time champions, and hence identified the next steps, which revolve around building a "secured" eleven and bouncing back in the next edition of the IPL.
"Other than that, we are just trying to plug in the holes. With all the games that are in front of us that we are supposed to win, we just take it one game at a time, and if we lose a few, what will be important for us is to get the right combination for next year. You don't want too many players getting changed. What will be important is to try and qualify, but if not, get a secured 11 for next year and come back strong," he added.
