A Rare Defeat at Home
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faced a rare home loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) at Chepauk—DC’s first victory at the venue since 2010. While Delhi had won their initial two encounters against CSK here in 2008 and 2010, they had since suffered seven consecutive losses in Chennai before breaking the streak on Saturday.

Streaks Snapped
That seven-match home dominance by CSK was tied as the second-longest for any team at a single IPL venue. Their longest such run was an eight-match winning streak over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chepauk, which also came to an end earlier this season.

Chasing Woes Since 2020
CSK’s troubles with chasing big totals persist. They've now failed to successfully chase a target of 180 or more in 10 straight attempts since 2020. Only three teams have endured longer dry spells in such chases: Punjab Kings (15 games from 2015–2021), RCB (12 from 2019–2023), and SRH (11 from 2020–2023).

A Rare Margin of Defeat
Saturday’s 25-run defeat came despite CSK losing only five wickets in their 20 overs—a margin of loss that’s among the top five largest in IPL history under such circumstances while chasing under 200 runs.

Last Successful 180+ Chase Dates to 2018
The last time CSK successfully chased down a 180+ target was back in 2018, when they overhauled SRH’s 180 in Pune with eight wickets to spare. Up until then, CSK had a balanced record in such chases with 9 wins and 9 losses.

Dhoni & Vijay Shankar's Gritty Stand
MS Dhoni and Vijay Shankar stitched together an unbeaten partnership lasting 9.2 overs—the second-longest such stand in a losing cause while chasing in IPL history. Their 84-run stand is also CSK’s highest-ever for the sixth wicket or lower.

Top Order Struggles in High-Pressure Chases
CSK’s top three batters have collectively managed a lowly strike rate of 120.74 in 180+ chases since 2020—the worst among all IPL franchises. Their average of 17.86 in such situations is also the lowest.

Dhoni’s Curious Form Trend
Interestingly, MS Dhoni has made a greater impact in losses than in wins since the start of IPL 2023. While he averages just 13.80 in CSK’s victories, his average shoots up to 90.66 in their defeats, scoring 272 runs in 14 innings.