A streak of five consecutive defeats have brought the Chennai Super Kings to the bottom of the IPL 2025 points table: can they still qualify from here?
CSK’s horror run has brought them to the bottom spot of the IPL 2025 points table. They are tied on points with the Mumbai Indians, but the latter have both a game in hand and a superior net run rate. Things are not looking good for CSK, whose five titles (the joint most in IPL history) include two trophies in the current decade.
Quiz! Every CSK cricketer to play under MS Dhoni’s captaincy
However, CSK fans may look back at a popular IPL statistic: there has never been a streak of two consecutive IPL finals without MS Dhoni, who was forced to take over as captain mid-season – and they had missed out on the 2024 final. While that may bring some optimism, they need to reach the top four first.
Read: Chennai Super Kings schedule for IPL 2025
IPL 2025 points table before double header on April 13
What do CSK need to qualify?
Eight wins in eight games will take CSK to 18 points and almost certainly guarantee qualification. Even one defeat will ensure they finish on 16. Barring 2012 and 2013, the two editions where each team played 16 games and not 14, 16 points have been enough for teams to secure a top-four berth (there is, however, a mathematical possibility of them not making it).
What if CSK lose two games? That is when things start getting tricky. There are myriad permutations of them winning five games, but it should suffice to say that 14 points had been enough to secure fourth place for Deccan Chargers (2009), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2010, 2020, and 2024), CSK (2014), Rajasthan Royals (2018), and Kolkata Knight Riders (2021).
In 2010, CSK themselves had finished third with 14 points, as did the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2020. And in 2019, SRH qualified with only 12 points.
CSK, thus, still have some breathing space, but their chances will reduce with every defeat.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
