TV
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans were left in awe and joy after the MS Dhoni-led side pulled off a gritty win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025 on Monday night. Accordingly, social media was filled with buzz and celebrations but also saw a dramatic turn.
As fans celebrated the return of Dhoni’s on-field heroics, darker discussions surfaced across social media, invoking a ghost from the franchise's controversial past: the 2013 match-fixing scandal.
Undoubtedly, the LSG victory was classic Dhoni with a late charge, tactical decision-making, and a vintage knock of 26 off just 11 balls. But for many online, this was not just another win.
Hashtags like #FixedMatch and #ScriptedIPL trended within minutes on microblogging sites like X. Allegations flew fast, with some users accusing LSG’s management of deliberately throwing the match, pointing fingers, particularly at Shardul Thakur’s penultimate over and the bizarre exclusion of Ravi Bishnoi from the death overs.
Shardul's Spell and Pant's Decisions Spark Conspiracies
A visibly rattled LSG side made several surprising decisions that handed the momentum to CSK. Shardul Thakur, once a CSK regular, conceded 19 runs in a game-defining over. Many online were quick to link his loyalty to his former franchise. Bishnoi, who had maintained tight control earlier, was left watching from the boundary.
Captain Rishabh Pant’s leadership came under scrutiny as even team communication appeared off-key, and Bishnoi later admitted he had ‘not really spoken to Pant’ before the match. This triggered fresh conspiracy theories, reviving the question: was it scripted?
ALSO READ: IPL 2025: LSG vs CSK match was fixed, allege netizens; questions Shardul Thakur's loyalty
Revisiting the Haunting Legacy of 2013
The uproar around the LSG-CSK match stirred up more than just post-match analysis as it reawakened memories of one of the Indian Premier League's darkest chapters.
In 2013, CSK's top official Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of then BCCI president N Srinivasan, was found guilty of betting and passing confidential team information to bookies. This led to a dramatic fall from grace, resulting in CSK being suspended for two full seasons alongside Rajasthan Royals.
The episode deeply tarnished the league’s credibility, triggering the formation of the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee.
The committee's recommendations included sweeping reforms in cricket administration, stricter governance measures for franchise operations, and the eventual exit of key officials. Though CSK returned to the tournament in 2018 and went on to win titles under Dhoni’s leadership, the perception of a tainted legacy still lingers.
ALSO READ: IPL 2025 puts UPI in crisis: How lakhs of crores of betting money could be behind recent outages?
Dhoni's Image Amid the Fallout
Despite not being personally implicated in the 2013 fixing scandal, MS Dhoni's role as CSK captain placed him in the line of fire and his silence during the fallout was criticised, especially since he also held a corporate role with India Cements, the parent company of CSK.
Public trust was shaken, and while he remained captain upon CSK’s return in 2018, the episode became an enduring blemish in his career narrative.
Dhoni, however, chose to let his cricket do the talking and joined the Rising Pune Supergiant. Yet, for a section of critics and fans, doubts have never entirely disappeared.
Any game in which Dhoni shines risks being viewed through a distorted lens, and last night’s debate proves that for all his achievements, Dhoni’s legacy is entangled with one of the most damaging chapters in IPL history.
ALSO READ: Who is Shaik Rasheed? The CSK debutant who lit up the Dhoni-led side's top-order
With CSK's recent comeback win under similar shades of controversy, many fans and critics were quick to draw parallels. To those who have not forgotten or forgiven, the match evoked suspicions not merely because of Dhoni’s sudden brilliance but due to the convenient collapse of the opposition and puzzling tactical calls.
Regardless, CSK continues to move on, and although they are currently placed at the bottom of the IPL table at 4 points, they showed yesterday that they still can win matches. With seven more league matches remaining, MS Dhoni and his men need to secure more such wins to reach the playoffs and even a possible sixth title win.
