'Finisher' Dhoni fails to win match for CSK, gets trolled on social media

The fans kept waiting for the thunderous sixes helicopter shots and mesmerising hits to the boundary from Mahendra Singh Dhoni But they did not come on Saturday as Chennai Super Kings lost another match in their denThe wait continued MS Dhonis bat failed to talk on this day and the legend trudged back to the dugout as the social media erupted in disbelief watching the man fade into the twilightFor years acknowledged as one of the best finishers in whiteball cricket Dhoni failed to guide Chennai Super Kings to victory against Delhi Capitals in Match 17 of the Indian Premier League IPL 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on SaturdayDhoni ended with an unbeaten 30 off 26 balls as CSK lost by 25 runs ending with 1585 from 20 overs with Vijay Shankar not out on 69With CSK chasing 184 Dhoni came in to bat at 745 in the 11th over after Ravindra Jadeja got out trapped lbw by fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav With nearly nine overs in hand and 110 more runs needed for the diehard CSK fans the stage was set for Thala to step in and guide the team home sealing a memorable win with a lastball six just like in the 2011 World Cup final at the WankhedeAlso ReadTeen chaar mil jaaye Yuzvendra Chahal speaks about his wicket prospects ahead of IPL 2025 clash against CSKBut on Saturday the 43yearold Dhoni failed to create the old magic and looked like a shadow of himself as he struggled to get the ball away as CSK slumped to a 25run defeat their first to the Delhi team at Chepauk in 15 yearsDhoni shared an 84run partnership with Vijay Shankar which is CSKs highest for the 6th wicket in IPL breaking the record of 73 between Hussey and S Badrinath but in the end it proved insufficientDhoni could not provide the innings the thrust it needed towards the end was virtually tied down by Mukesh Kumar and Mitchell Starc as CSK needed 67 runs in the last three overs The required rate continued to climb and Dhoni did manage to hit a four and a six but that was too little to help CSKThe thing that will hurt Dhoni and his fans the most is that his debacle came with his family including his parents wife and daughter in the stands There were reports that before the match MSD had sought his father Pan Singh Dhonis blessings Social media was rife with proclamations that Dhoni was set to announce his retirement from IPL cricket just as abruptly as he quit Test cricket and ODIDhoni played many dot balls in his knock which caused a buzz on social media with many people seeking his retirement and others feeling sad seeing a legend struggling to guide the team to victoryMS Dhonis reputation is built on years of leadership consistency and unmatched calmness but sometimes even legends face moments where people question their choices said a fan on X formerly TwitterAs a diehard Dhoni fan Im requesting ChennaiIPL to drop MS Dhoni for the next few matches Give his spot to youngsters like Shaik Rasheed or Vansh Bedi We already have Conway for wicketkeeping So Dhoni not necessary in playing 11 wrote another fanSome fans also made memes on Dhoni playing a dot ball on a free hit while some others suggested that this was a good time for him to retireSince the start of IPL 2025 there has been a lot of curiosity about how Dhoni who will be turning 44 in a couple of weeks will handle things He was praised for his brilliant stumpings especially for dismissing Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians But his batting came under fire when he came to bat at No9 in one match and failed to score many runs in the otherSaturdays struggle to properly execute the finishers role for which he is renowned takes further fuel to the fireThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params