Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) rode on a complete team performance and defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by 27 runs at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 10 (Wednesday). The Men in Yellow knocked David Warner's men on the doors of elimination while improving their record to seven wins after playing 12 matches. With 15 points, MS Dhoni's men are just one win away from qualifying for the playoffs.
For CSK, in-form Matheesha Pathirana was terrific with the ball once again as he bagged three wickets, Chahar bagged two wickets and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with a wicket. Maheesh Theekshana and Moeen Ali didn't bag a wicket but were economical with the ball.
After the game, Dhoni spoke about how CSK spinners are a little different from the rest of the spinners playing in the competition.
"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," Cricbuzz quoted MS Dhoni as saying after the game during the post-match presentation.
Earlier, CSK won the toss and elected to bat first. MS Dhoni showed his hitting prowess and hammered two big sixes to boost CSK's score to 167/ 8 in 20 overs. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 20 runs off nine balls and smacked Khaleel Ahmed for a couple of maximums in the penultimate over to give a push to the score on an evening when run-making wasn't very easy.
None of the CSK batters could go on and get a substantial score with Shivam Dube (25) being the highest score. There were 20s by Ruturaj Gaikwad (24), Ambati Rayudu (23) and Ajinkya Rahane (21).
Courtesy of handy contributions from multiple batters and a late flourish from Dhoni, CSK posted a competitive total of 167/8 in 20 overs.
While Dhoni was content with the team's score, the CSK skipper affirmed that the performance from the batting line-up could have been better.
"I felt 166-170 was a good score. But as a batting unit, we can do better. 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," Dhoni said.
Dhoni lavished profound praise on opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad's skillset, particularly his ability to rotate the strike amidst finding boundaries at regular intervals. The CSK captain also touched upon his role in the team and why he doesn't want to waste energy in running between wickets.
"He (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 the 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. This is what my job is, I have told them this is what I am supposed to do, don't make me run a lot and it has been working. This is what I need to do, happy to contribute," Dhoni opined.
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