Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni accepted that he might have got the decision of batting first after winning the toss as Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) went on to chase down a 6-wicket victory in match number 61 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
Chennai had a chance to seal their place in the Playoffs at home, but Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh had other ideas by stitching a 99-run partnership off 76 balls for the fourth wicket to take Kolkata home in a chase of 145 with nine balls to spare.
While Rana was unbeaten on 57 off 44 balls, Rinku was impressive in scoring 54 off 43 balls as the duo also achieved the distinction of stitching the highest-ever partnership for the fourth wicket against Chennai at Chepauk.
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After the match, MS Dhoni said he knew once the first ball of the second innings was bowled, that they were short on runs.
“I think it’s one of those where you win the toss and you back the moment the first ball was bowled in the second innings and you realise it’s a 180 wicket. And batting for us on that wicket, I don’t think we could have got anywhere close to 180. So I felt that you made a big difference in the top three if you compare the cost savings to the second image," Dhoni said.
“I think there was a lot more purchase for the spinners in the first innings, and that’s what really got to us," he added
When asked about not being ‘too harsh on the lads’, MS Dhoni said: “Yes, I think so. Because you know, whenever there is no certainty about the dew, that’s when the decision becomes slightly tricky. And as I said, you know, you win the toss and you bowl for us. And then you realise there is no dew in the second innings, not chasing against their spinners, even if it’s 150-160. That would have been very tough. So I think we can’t really blame any of the players whether it’s the batsman or bowler, they tried their best, and I think it’s the condition that had really had a big impact on the game."
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The only shining light for CSK with the ball was Deepak Chahar.
Chennai struck in the opening over when Deepak had Rahmanullah Gurbaz slicing a drive on a full and wide ball to deep backward point running to his right. The pacer again struck in the third over when Venkatesh Iyer nicked straight to short third man, after being hit for two fours.
Given a third straight over, Chahar was straightaway pulled for six by Nitish. But he bounced back with Jason Roy getting an outside edge on an attempted drive off a knuckleball to short third man.
Asked about Shivan Dube’s performace and what he might have spoken to him differently about, MS Dhoni said that he would like to keep that conversation between him and his bowler.
“Well, he’s somebody who swings the ball. He has a fair idea of the game. He knows where to keep the feeler and accordingly bubbles. So he’s definitely an asset at times, you know, I feel now he’s very experienced to realize that time that if it’s not swinging, what’s the length to both? Because in games where you don’t have too many runs on the board, you have to get slightly smart because once you realize it’s not swinging, it will not swing for anyone," MS Dhoni said.
With the bat though it was Shivam Dube, who top-scored for CSK, hammering a 34-ball 48 (1×4, 3x6s) to help the hosts somewhat post a respectable total.
“Well, we have spoken a lot and I think you know it will remain in the dressing room what we have spoken about what are the areas where you need to work on but very happy with the way he has done and what’s important is for him to keep continue you know game after game, you will not get satisfied with what you have done," MS Dhoni said.
“So he has done that job for us, you know, going in the middle trying to get as many runs as possible. So I just wish him that he keeps continuing and deep tracks form in the powerplay again back to his best.
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