How did Chennai Super Kings miss chance to avoid their worst finish in IPL history?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) finished their season with a morale-boosting win over Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday. MS Dhoni and his men, though, stayed tenth in the table, which is their worst ever finish to an IPL season. For the first time, CSK has finished this low with just eight points from 14 games. Rajasthan Royals (RR) finished the 2025 season in the ninth spot above Chennai Super Kings due to a better run-rate. 

If CSK had to overhaul RR in the points table, they had to restrict GT to 121 on the board. When Gerald Coetzee was dismissed, the Titans were placed at 110/7 in the 14th over, giving CSK fans a finish to avoid the wooden spoon. MS Dhoni brought Deepak Hooda into bowl and Rahul Tewatia hit the spinner for a boundary to begin the over. 

In the fifth ball of the 15th over, Mohammad Arshad Khan hit Deepka Hooda for a huge six over the long-on region. This meant that GT was past the 121-run mark and Chennai will end the season rooted at the bottom of the table. CSK had done well with the bat to score 230 for the loss of the five wickets. This is Chennai’s fourth highest team total in IPL history 

Noor Ahmad helps CSK sign off with a win 

Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad ended the 2025 season as the top wicket-taker of the tournament. Noor picked three wickets from his four overs and gave away just 21 runs to take his season tally to 24 wickets. Noor Ahmad began by dismissing Afghan teammate Rashid Khan, caught by Urvil Patel for 12 runs. 

His second wicket was that of Rahul Tewatia for 14 runs, caught by Shivam Dube. Arshad Khan was Noor Ahmad’s final wicket bowled for 20 runs, which came off 14 balls with three sixes. Anshul Kamboj took the final wicket when he had Sai Kishore going for a huge shot. MS Dhoni took the catch to help CSK win the game by 83 runs, much to the relief of their fans.

Gujarat Titans for the second time in successive games, lost while chasing the total. This loss also means that GT ends with 18 points from 14 games and is still top of the table. If Mumbai or PBKS win their game on Monday, they will go top of the table and take the top two spots in the points. RCB too can claim the top two spots in the points if they beat Lucknow in their final league game of the season.