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Dale Steyn criticised MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming for sending Ashwin and Jadeja to bat early in CSK’s IPL 2025 match against RR, losing by six wickets.
IPL 2025, CSK vs RR: Ravindra Jadeja was dimissed for just one run (AP)
Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn didn’t hold back while taking shots at MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming after another top-order collapse from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Steyn was not happy with the CSK manmagement’s decision to send Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to bat at No. 4 and 5 after the team lost its top three wickets early. Labeling them as “bowlers,” Steyn questioned their batting credentials, especially in a high-pressure situation.
In the end, both Ashwin and Jadeja failed to deliver with the bat, scoring just 13 and 1 respectively, while hitters like Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis were left waiting in the dugout.
CSK crumbled to 78/5 as the strategy backfired with Rajasthan Royals picking up wickets at regular intervals.
“CSK 3 down and they send 2 bowlers to bat. Sometimes I feel their math is not mathing,” Steyn wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
CSK 3 down and they send 2 bowlers to bat.Sometimes I feel their math is not mathing.
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) May 20, 2025
Opener Ayush Mhatre blazed away to a 20-ball 43 and Brevis (42 off 25 balls) and Dube (39 off 32) helped CSK fight back with their 59-run partnership. CSK scored 187. For RR, Yudhvir Singh picked up 3/47 in four overs, while Akash Madhwal ended with impressive figures of 3/29.
In reply, RR completed the chase with 17 balls to spare. Sanju Samson (41 off 31 balls), Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 off 19) and Dhruv Jurel (31 not out off 12) were the other significant contributors for RR.
The teenaged Vaibhav Suryavanshi sparkled with a 33-ball 57 as Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets.
“If you look at the amount of runs we had put on the board, it was very good, but you got to see the wickets column as it puts pressure on the lower-middle order that you might not bat 20 overs,” CSK’s stand-in skipper MS Dhoni said after the loss.
“I think you need to look for consistency, which is hard to get when you are looking for a 200 strike-rate. The batters need to back themselves. What is important is to be the same way as your first season for all young batters. You need to get more consistent that’s going to help you to develop as a batsman going forward,” he added.
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