'No Matter How Big Of A Player...': Virender Sehwag Criticises CSK's Chase Strategy
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad tried his best as he scored 63 runs off 44 deliveries, but in the end, the task proved to be a mountain to climb.
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag has said that no matter how big a player is on the crease, it is a tough job to chase down so many runs towards the end, pointing at Chennai Super Kings’ faulty strategy of chasing targets for two games in a row now.
Chennai suffered their second consecutive defeat in IPL 2025 after not being able to chase down 183.
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Sehwag put MS Dhoni‘s finishing ability under the scanner as well, saying that no recent games come to mind when one talks about the latter taking the side over the line.
“Scoring 40 many runs in 2 overs is a difficult task. No matter how big of a player is in the middle, it is a difficult job. You win on one or two occasions and that is about it. I remember Dhoni pulled off a heist when he hit 24 or 25 runs off the bowling of Axar Patel and on one instance, he smashed Irfan Pathan for 19 or 20 runs in Dharamsala," Sehwag said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
“You can just remember one or two matches on top of your mind. No recent matches come to your memory. For five years, CSK have been unable to chase totals of more than 180," Sehwag added.
Baffled by some of Chennai’s tactics in their clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said earlier that he doesn’t understand why Dhoni continues to bat lower down the order.
But on Sunday, after losing to Rajasthan and being confronted with the same question in the post-match press conference, Chennai coach Stephen Fleming said that Dhoni’s knee issue hasn’t let him bat up the order despite being able to time the ball well.
Chennai suffered a heavy 50-run loss to Bengaluru while chasing a stiff 197-run target, and Watson felt that captain Ruturaj Gaikwad should have opened the innings as well.
Gaikwad was asked the same question in the post-match presentation but he said that it was decided during the auction that Rachin Ravindra and Rahul Tripathi will open the innings while he bats at No. 3.
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