Watch: MS Dhoni Burnt By World Cup Winning Teammate After CSK's Lost Cause vs RCB

The former Indian opening batter, Virender Sehwag, has taken a dig at the batting position of the former Chennai Super Kings’ captain, MS Dhoni. During their clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the veteran walked out to bat at nine, even after Ravichandran Ashwin.

The only time before March 28 when MS Dhoni batted at number nine in an IPL game was against the Punjab Kings during the previous edition in Dharamshala. Shardul Thakur came ahead of the wicket-keeper batter, who was foxed on the very first ball from Harshal Patel.

MS Dhoni’s knock goes in vain for CSK

Chennai was struggling at 99/7 on the second ball of the 16th over when Ravichandran Ashwin found the throat of the long-on fielder during the 197-run chase against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The CSK management proved the entire community wrong by demoting their former captain in the batting order.

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Ravindra Jadeja nailed Suyash Sharma for a six and a four in the 18th over, but none of those made any difference in the result. MS Dhoni, in his first seven deliveries, managed just five runs on the board.

MS Dhoni scooped the opening ball of the 19th over from Yash Dayal for a boundary before sending the very next delivery over mid-wicket for the same result. His power-hitting started in the last over of the innings.

The right-handed batter slogged the third ball of the final over from Krunal Pandya over the square-leg region for a six before repeating the same shot over the backward square for another over boundary. MS Dhoni, with a boundary on the last ball, finished with an undefeated 30 runs in 16 balls at a strike rate of 187.50.

Watch: Virender Sehwag laughs at MS Dhoni’s batting position

During a post-match conversation on Cricbuzz, the host asked Virender Sehwag to shed light on MS Dhoni’s number nine position in the batting department, where he came even after Ashwin. The former Delhi batter took a dig at the World Cup-winning captain.

Sehwag joked and wondered if the wicket-keeper batter came a bit early to bat during the chase. He claimed that generally the 43-year-old bats in the last two overs of the innings, but against RCB in Chennai, he came at the 16th over of the innings.

“Jaldi aa gaye naa (Didn’t he come a bit early)?” Sehwag asked the panel as his co-analyst, Manoj Tiwary, and the host of the show.

“When he (MS Dhoni) came (to bat), 16 overs had been bowled, but usually he comes at the 19th or the 20th over. In this way, he came in to bat early. Either he came early, or his batters lost the wickets early.” He addressed.

Sehwag cooked Dhoni 😭😭pic.twitter.com/OCPEc4w0Lt

— supremo (@hyperkohli) March 28, 2025

Also Read: CSK's Stephen Fleming Blasts His Own Pitch Curator After RCB Loss

It remains a mystery why he didn’t come at least at number seven. His big shots could release the pressure from the other end and inspire the other batters to fire up in the chase.

RCB creates history against CSK in Chennai after 17 seasons

Under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy during the inaugural season (2008), Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first and only game against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

But they ended the drought under Rajat Patidar in 2025, thanks to some power hitting from the captain and Tim David’s late finish. Josh Hazlewood picked up two successive wickets in the second over, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar also contributed with a crucial wicket to break Chennai’s back in the 197-run chase.