Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni was delighted after their 27-run win against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday. Dhoni feels the score of 167 was a good total on the pitch, which had a lot of assistance for the spinners.
After Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first, CSK posted 167 runs on the board. In fact, almost every CSK batter got off to a start but none of them could go on to make a big score. Dhoni admitted that they could have done a better job as a batting unit.
However, the home team was able to put their noses in front as David Warner, Phillip Salt, and Mitchell Marsh were dismissed cheaply to leave DC in a spot of bother at 25-3. Subsequently, Manish Pandey and Rilee Rossouw steadied the ship with a 59-run alliance but they could not score their runs at a brisk pace, which elevated the required run-rate to double digits.
MS Dhoni said in the post-match presentation, “It turned a lot in the second half. We know that our spinners use a lot more seam than some of the other bowlers. We thought it’ll slow down. We didn’t know what’s a good score. That’s why I wanted the bowlers to bowl their best deliveries but not look for wickets every delivery. That’s when you start not bowling well. I felt 166-170 was a good score. But as a batting unit, we can do better.”
On the other hand, the veteran was also delighted that the all-rounder duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali got a chance to bat in the middle and wants everyone to face enough deliveries before the playoff stages.
Dhoni added, “The good thing is Moeen and Jaddu got a chance to bat. As we get closer to the last phase of the tournament, it’s important that everybody has a few deliveries under their belt. We need to be happy with our batting.”
Meanwhile, Dhoni also showered praise on the team’s opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored 24 runs off 18 balls with the help of four fours. Dhoni said Gaikwad is a treat to the eyes when he gets going and he understands his role in the team.
The CSK captain concluded, “Gaikwad is batting really well, he’s somebody once he starts scoring, he’s very effortless. He’s somebody who’s happy to rotate. He has game awareness. He is ready to adapt. You rarely get people like that. People who read the game, those are the kind of players you need in your team.”
Chennai Super Kings will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
