MS Dhoni back injury: Chennai Super Kings captain was vocal about his back pain which happened while he was batting vs KKR.
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During the 29th match of the ongoing 12th season of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings at Kolkata, Chennai Super Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets to register their seventh IPL 2019 victory.
Given how Knight Riders opening batsman Chris Lynn was batting, it appeared as if the host would easily cross the 180-run mark in the first innings. However, them being restricted to 161/8 in 20 overs involved an exceptional effort from Super Kings’ bowlers.
“The bowling was really good”
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened up on his bowlers’ performance especially during the business end of the innings.
“I think the bowling was really good. They got off to a very good start. As a complete team, we bowled very well in the middle-overs. Imran Tahir [4-0-27-4] gave us important breakthroughs at the right time. Overall, it’s a tough wicket to bowl on. Chris Lynn had a brilliant day but we made sure we kept taking wickets from other end,” Dhoni was quoted as saying.
Coming in to bat at No. 6 in the 12th over, Dhoni was seen attacking chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav in the next over. Although he couldn’t finish the game, he added vital runs with vice-captain Suresh Raina in the middle overs. Being asked about his aggressive approach, Dhoni highlighted how he wanted to attack the bowlers from the word go today.
Dhoni probably knows Kuldeep’s bowling better than even Kuldeep does.
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 14, 2019
“You have to be [aggressive]. We bat quite deep. When there’s a chance against a particular bowler, you have to take it. Can’t really leave too many at the end. Depending on the opposition and conditions, you have to keep changing your plan. Today was a day when I wanted to go after the bowlers slightly early. It paid-off well. It was a good chase,” Dhoni said.
“Back is a bit tight right now”
It is all but likely now that Super Kings will qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament. Despite being on top of the table, Dhoni didn’t hesitate from pinpointing areas of improvement for the upcoming matches.
“We can get better in batting. There were quite a few soft dismissals. If you get off to a good start, make sure you are standing on one end especially when you are chasing. You don’t really need to finish every game in 14th or 15th over. But overall, it was a very good team effort,” Dhoni added.
The 37-year old cricketer was seen suffering with back pain while he was batting. Being asked about the same, Dhoni confirmed that it isn’t anything serious. “Spasm. It [back] is a bit tight right now. Hopefully, it will get better,” Dhoni concluded.
