Former Chennai Super Kings opener Matthew Hayden has strongly disagreed with MS Dhoni's defense of his team's batting in the powerplay and their strategy against Kolkata Knight Riders. After CSK's crushing eight-wicket defeat to KKR, Hayden spoke about how CSK's conservative approach is hurting them in the tournament. "I genuinely felt like this was a 180-plus wicket. I looked at that surface. It looked like a good surface. It was hard black soil, and you know, you hear MS Dhoni talk there about the powerplay. Simon Katich asked him a question and his response was, look, we've just got to be conservative. We've got to play, the whole 20 overs. I disagree," he said. CSK managed only 31 runs in the powerplay, a total that Dhoni justified by highlighting the pitch conditions and the importance of batting through the 20 overs. However, Hayden felt this mindset was a fundamental flaw in CSK's approach. "You know, when you're giving away 30 runs. That's exactly what happened tonight inside the powerplay. KKR was 60. CSK was 30," he said. Also Read: "We have to accept...": MS Dhoni breaks silence after CSK's loss vs KKR Hayden pointed out that in a tournament as tight as the IPL, small margins make a huge difference. By falling behind early, CSK were always chasing the game rather than setting the pace. "30 is often a multiple of 5 times the advantage that you can afford to give away in an IPL. They're often 4 or 5 runs. KKR's last match that they lost to LSG, they lost by 4 runs, so it's so significant, I believe that CSK get into that space where they're catching up to the tournament, and they're actually leading from the front," he said. 'CSK have got good enough players': Hayden Hayden also insisted that CSK has the talent to play a more aggressive brand of cricket. He stressed that being overly conservative is not only ineffective but also unfair to key finishers like Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni, who are left to carry the burden in the final overs. "They've got good enough players. Being conservative, they're also cutting their sharp men and sharpshooters like Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni himself, who's under so much pressure at the back end and having to play catch-up. In my experience, you're not supposed to catch up. You get caught if you're thinking that way, and that's exactly what unfolded in front of us this evening," he said. With the loss, CSK remain in the bottom half of the IPL 2025 points table. They will next face Lucknow Super Giants on April 14, in what is now a crucial game to revive their campaign.