CSK eliminated from IPL 2025; is it goodbye to Dhoni?

When Indian team’s retired hero M S Dhoni decided to go again in the Indian Premier League at 43, he would have hoped for a glorious exit in the franchise event with a record sixth title for his beloved Chennai Super Kings.

But on Wednesday, that dream died out as CSK became the first team to be eliminated after an eighth defeat in ten rounds.

Half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Prabhsimran Singh powered Punjab Kings to a four-wicket win over Dhoni-led CSK in Chennai. Dhoni had taken over as captain following a season-ending injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad, but even his charism couldn’t stop the slump, as CSK lost four of their five matches under the veteran.

Riding on 4/32 from Yuzvendra Chahal, which included a hat-trick, Punjab bowled out CSK for 190 and chased it down with two balls to spare. Captain Iyer made 72 off 41 after impact sub, Prabhsimran added a 36-ball 54. Iyer hit Matheesha Pathirana's 17th over for 20 runs to get Punjab closer to the target.

Earlier, Sam Curran scored his first fifty of the season (88 off 47 balls) as he helped the hosts recover from a precarious 48/3 in the powerplay. While Dhoni’s CSK have been eliminated, Punjab moved into prime playoff position, second in the table on 13 points.

Brief scores: CSK 190 in 19.2 overs (Sam Curran 88, Dewald Brevis 32, Chahal 4/32, Arshdeep Singh 2/25, Marco Jansen 2/30) lost to Punjab Kings 194/6 in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 72, Prabhsimran Singh 54, Khaleel Ahmed 2/28, Matheesha Pathirana 2/45)