Captain Dhoni loses five IPL matches in a row to skipper Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson's Rajasthan Royals defeated M S Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets in an IPL 2025 match in Delhi on Tuesday. The outcome is inconsequential, considering both franchises cannot make the playoffs this season. The Royals have finished their league matches with a lowly 8 points from 14 outings, while CSK have a game in hand, and the best they can achieve is to match the Royals on points.

However, from a captaincy perspective, Sanju should feel happy having beaten his legendary counterpart Dhoni yet again. Since he was promoted as captain of the Royals in 2021, Sanju has got the better of Dhoni five times in a row.

Sanju's RR has lost to Dhoni's CSK only once, which was in April 2021, the first time the Kerala wicketkeeper batter faced the national icon as captain of his franchise.

In 2023, Sanju did a double over Dhoni, winning both home and away. Though RR defeated CSK twice this season, neither side was led by their current captain on the first occasion. Ruturaj Gaikwad was in charge of CSK, and Sanju played as an impact sub under Riyan Parag's captaincy when RR won by six runs on March 30 this year.

Dhoni returned to lead CSK following a season-ending injury to Gaikwad. Though Dhoni couldn't work his charm like in the past since getting the armband back, his legacy as a five-time IPL-winning captain is as strong as ever.

Even at 43, Dhoni showed glimpses of his incredible stumping skills earlier in the season. It is hard to say if India's most successful captain will play in the next IPL season. If he doesn't, Sanju can take pride in having an enviable 5-1 head-to-head record over one of the best captains the game has seen.