MS Dhoni sacrifices Pathirana, uses Deepak Hooda as Impact Sub in a baffling move that flops miserably
As surprising as it may sound, CSK used their Impact Sub with Dhoni still in the hut. Hooda came into the XI in place of Rahul Tripathi.
Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni's puzzling move of using Deepak Hooda as an Impact Sub while batting first against the Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL 2025 match at the Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, drew a lot of eyeballs. Dhoni, back as CSK captain, an elbow injury ruled Ruturaj Gaikwad out of the tournament, did not have a good day in the office. He managed only 1 off 4 balls with the bat and moreover, his captaincy was way off the mark. CSK slumped to one of their heaviest-ever defeats in the IPL as KKR chased down their 1-4-run target in 10.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.
It all started with CSK's batting order. Despite the CSK batters struggling against KKR spinners Moeen Ali, Varun Chakarvarthy and Sunil Narine, Dhoni kept himself and Ravindra Jadeja in the shades. For some strange reason, Ashwin was sent ahead of Jadeja at No.6. When he was dismissed for 1 off 7 balls, Jadeja walked in and didn't last long.
CSK were 71 for six and in dire need of a partnership. The best man would have been the captain himself, who have rescued the team from such situations countless times. But no, out came a horroly out of touch Deepak Hooda, who had managed just 7 runs in his previous two innings.
As surprising as it may sound, CSK used their Impact Sub with Dhoni still in the hut. Hooda came into the XI in place of Rahul Tripathi. Ideally, CSK's impact Sub should have been Matheesha Pathirana. That's exactly why they played three overseas cricketers in their batting first XI, leaving space for Pathirana to come out when it was their time to field. But that was not the case. The change of plan came when CSK saw the batters struggle.
It is not unusual for teams to use an extra batter after losing early wickets but to that with MS Dhoni still in the dressing room was baffling.
As it turned out, Hooda was dismissed for a four-ball duck. After Deepak Hooda (0) fell in the next over, Dhoni came out to bat with CSK at 72 for 7 in 14.2 overs.
The writing was on the wall for CSK and the Chepauk crowd fell silent when Dhoni was adjudged LBW off Narine. Dhoni opted for a review, seemingly indicating there was bat involved, but the decision stood.
More than four overs were left after Dhoni's departure and CSK went past the 100-run mark, thanks mainly to Dube.
KKR hammer CSK by 8 wickets
Invited to bat, a completely disoriented CSK could manage only a paltry 103 for nine, their lowest total at Chepauk, as KKR dished out a clinical bowling show.
It was CSK's third lowest total in the IPL and the lowest by any team in this edition so far.
Chasing a paltry 104 for a win, KKR cantered home in 10.1 overs with opener Sunil Narine bludgeoning his way to a 18-ball 44 studded with two fours and five sixes.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane also played his part with a solid 20 not out off 17 balls, while Quinton de Kock, the other opener, contributed 23. Rinku Singh also remained not out on 15 off 12 balls.
Narine greeted Khaleel Ahmed with a six in the first over itself before de Kock did the same to Anshul Kamboj as runs came pouring. De Kock then punished Ahmed with two sixes.
Narine did not spare former India spinner R Ashwin, hitting him for a six and a four in the fourth over.
De Kock fell in the fifth over but one-down Rahane did not give any respite to the CSK bowlers as KKR reached 71 for 1 after powerplay overs.
KKR needed just 33 runs after powerplay and they lost Narine in the eighth over but achieved the target without any fuss.
Rinku Singh finished the chase in style, hitting a six off Ravindra Jadeja in the 11th over.
Earlier, Narine (3/13) grabbed three wickets, while Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy got two each after CSK were invited to bat. Nothing went right for CSK in their home ground as they could hit just nine boundaries (4 or 6) in the entire innings.
Shivam Dube top-scored with an unbeaten 31 off 29 balls, while Vijay Shankar made 29 after living a charmed life. Only two other CSK batters made runs in double-digit figures.
