MS Dhoni speaks to the umpire after the match. (Screengrab)

After losing their match against Mumbai Indians by nine wickets, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni looked visibly upset.
After Suryakumar Yadav hit the winning six, the 43-year-old walked straight to one of the umpires and was seen having an animated conversation.
However, the context of the conversation is unknown, but in the post-match presentation, Dhoni admitted that CSK were not good enough. CSK have lost 6 out of their first 8 matches in IPL 2025 and are languishing at the bottom of the points table.
“I think we were quite below par. We knew that dew would come into play,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
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“We wanted to exploit the middle overs. We felt that Bumrah, being one of the best death bowlers in the world, meant that once they started their death bowling, we should’ve had the momentum with us.
“We should’ve started going hard slightly earlier before Bumrah was introduced. We needed those runs because 175 was never a par score at this venue.”
Dhoni said the approach going forward is to secure a good playing XI for the next match.
“I think we need to realize that in order to be successful, you need to play good cricket,” he said.
“We cannot be emotional about it. We have to be practical. We need to see whether we are playing the right form of cricket or not. We dropped a few catches tonight as well.
“We will just take it one game at a time. Even if we lose a few, we need to focus on the right combination for the next year. We don’t want many players to change. We will try to make the playoffs. If we can’t, we will look at a settled XI and try to come back strong next season.”
CSK will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.