Cricket

“You have to look ahead”: MS Dhoni reveals why Moeen Ali batted at Number 3 in place of Suresh Raina vs Delhi Capitals

Dixit Bhargav
|PublishedApr 10, 2021

"You have to look ahead": MS Dhoni reveals why Moeen Ali batted at Number 3 in place of Suresh Raina vs Delhi Capitals

Moeen Ali batted at Number 3: Chennai Super Kings had promoted the English all-rounder at No. 3 in their IPL 2021 season opener.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admits that his bowlers could’ve done better in their Indian Premier League 2021 season opener against Delhi Capitals tonight. With Super Kings failing to defend 189 runs, Dhoni hoped for his bowlers to “learn” from the defeat.

“A lot depended on how much dew you would get. That’s the reason we wanted to get as much runs as possible. The first few overs it was a bit tacky, and the batters did well to get to 188.

“Coming to bowling, we could have done better. The batters were hitting over the top, there was some boundary deliveries, where the execution wasn’t nice. The bowlers will learn,” Dhoni told Star Sports after the loss at the Wankhede Stadium.

MS Dhoni reveals why Moeen Ali batted at Number 3 in place of Suresh Raina

Earlier, it was Pant who had invited CSK in to bat. With all-rounder Sam Curran scoring a game-changing 34 (15), Super Kings had put on board 188/7 in 20 overs. Having scored 54 (36) with the help of three fours and four sixes, CSK vice-captain Suresh Raina was their top-scorer because of his 40th IPL half-century.

Raina, who had made the No. 3 position at CSK his own, batted at No. 4 for the first time since IPL 2015. Having shared a 53-run partnership for the third wicket alongside all-rounder Moeen Ali, Raina had witnessed the English player taking his batting spot tonight.

Being asked about the same, Dhoni pointed out how the move was made to increase run-scoring keeping the dew factor in mind. “As I said, you have to look ahead especially when you have dew. You have to get extra runs. 7:30 [PM] start means opposition will have less amount of dew and we have to score those 15-20 runs extra.

“After that you need to get early wickets also. Well, if we keep consistently getting dew, 200 is something all teams have in mind. I felt both our openers got very good deliveries, and that can happen in a game like this,” Dhoni said.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.