‘Batsmen let bowlers down’: MS Dhoni expresses disappointment after KKR beat CSK by 10 runs

MS Dhoni expresses disappointment: The captain of Chennai Super Kings was unhappy with how his batsmen played against the Knight Riders.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has called for his batsmen needed to be more innovative after CSK failed to chase a 168-run target against Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi.

“Rotation of strike was important, but I think there were hardly any boundaries in the final few overs. So, we need to be innovative at the end when they are continuously hitting a back of a length. That’s where we need to adapt better with the bat and I don’t think we did that,” Dhoni said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

A 69-run partnership between Shane Watson (50) and Ambati Rayudu (30) had set the tone for Chennai but the latter getting out to an uncalled for shot against Kolkata pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti commenced his team’s downfall.

MS Dhoni expresses disappointment after KKR beat CSK by 10 runs

From needing 69 runs to win in eight overs with nine wickets in hand to 39 runs off 21 balls with six wickets, Super Kings’ middle-order not finding the boundaries worked against them.

“In the middle overs, there was a phase where they [KKR bowlers] bowled 2-3 good overs. If our batting was different during that period, the result would have been different,” Dhoni added.

While Dhoni himself scored a mediocre 11 (12), CSK weren’t helped by Kedar Jadhav scoring 7* (12) at a crucial juncture.

Given how KKR captain Dinesh Karthik rotated his bowlers, Super Kings should have ideally made the most of the situation at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Barring Pat Cummins (4-0-25-0), all other bowlers from KKR picked a wicket each.

Having lost four out of the six matches that CSK have played so far, they’ve dropped to the fifth position on the points table. Knight Riders, one the other hand, are at the third position with three wins in their five matches till now.