IPL 2025: CSK One Loss Away From Worst-Ever Home Record, Fight To Save Pride At Home Against PBKS-OxBig News Network

In what has been a turbulent season, CSK finds itself at the bottom of the IPL 2025 standings with just two wins from nine matches. Their upcoming clash at their home ground, Chepauk, against a relatively consistent Punjab Kings, currently sitting fifth with five victories from nine games, will be crucial.

CSK’s campaign began with a promise after a home win over the Mumbai Indians, but things quickly spiraled. The side has since suffered four straight home defeats, an alarming statistic for a team historically dominant at the venue.

Their first blow came at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who chased down CSK’s total convincingly, ending a 17-year unbeaten run against RCB at Chepauk. Delhi Capitals followed suit, led by KL Rahul’s composed 77 and a disciplined spin attack from Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav, handing CSK another defeat.

Kolkata Knight Riders inflicted further misery with a crushing win. CSK’s batting lineup crumbled under pressure from KKR’s spin duo Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, who shared five wickets, limiting the hosts to just 103. The chase was a walk in the park for KKR.

The latest home loss came against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite flashes of resistance from Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, CSK were bowled out for 154, thanks to a four-wicket burst from Harshal Patel. SRH chased the total with ease, dealing CSK their fourth defeat at home this season, a feat they’ve only endured twice before, in 2008 and 2012. Ironically, both those seasons ended with final defeats for CSK.

Now, with one more loss at home, CSK faces the possibility of recording their worst-ever season on their turf. A win against PBKS would not only lift spirits but also prevent an unwelcome milestone.

Can MS Dhoni and his men rally to protect their fortress one more time?

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings:
Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Anshul Kamboj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi

Punjab Kings:
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash