"MS Dhoni Hit Three Sixes In 12 Balls... It's Not His Fault"

MS Dhoni is 43 and is way past his prime, but the wicketkeeper-batter has still hit the joint-most sixes and also has the best strike rate (153.73 - at least 50 balls) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. And, that should tell you how below-par the other CSK batters have been in the IPL 2025. 

CSK, on April 8 (Tuesday), suffered their fourth consecutive defeat and are currently at No.9 on the IPL 2025 points table. Chasing a target of 220 against Punjab Kings (PBKS), CSK could only get to 201, with the likes of Rachin Ravindra (36 off 23), Devon Conway (69 off 49) and Shivam Dube (42 off 27) failing to keep up with the required rate.

Coming into bat at No.5, MSD slammed three sixes and a four in his 12-ball 27 and was the only CSK batter with a strike rate of more than 200 in a run chase where they had to operate at 11 runs per over.

“Dhoni had three sixes in 12 balls. The rest of the team had five in total. So that tells you he's still got the ability and power to hit those sixes. That's why we have been talking about getting him up in the order. Because 27 off 12 balls, when they are 2 down, actually can make a difference. It's not his fault,” former New Zealand player and IPL commentator Simon Doull told Cricbuzz.

Conway operated at a strike rate of 140 and was asked to retire out in the 18th over. Ravindra Jadeja walked in and scored 9 off 5 but the game was already lost by then. CSK head coach Stephen Fleming recently said that MSD can’t bat for too long because of his fitness, but Doull said he would rather take that 27 off 12 at No.4 than at No.7-8.

“Retiring Conway was an interesting decision. He had the pace of the pitch but his strike rate was too low. In a game where you've got a strike rate of 190 to win, he was scoring at 140. But he was retired out too late, too late for Jadeja to assess,” said Doull.

“But Dhoni was 27 off 12 balls... if it happens at no.3 or 4, that makes a difference to the game. By the time he came out to bat, the run rate was 14. It was too late.”