Dhoni comments on CSK losing vs MI: Chennai Super Kings captain was vocal about losing Qualifier 1 against Mumbai Indians.
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Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni opened up on losing Qualifier 1 against Mumbai Indians. The 6-wicket victory was the third which Mumbai registered against Chennai in IPL 2019. Playing at Chepauk, MI are unbeaten since 2010 which in itself is a milestone vs Super Kings.
“Things really didn’t go our way, especially batting. At home, we had to assess the conditions quickly, we have played 6 to 7 games on this pitch and should have read the pitch better, that’s the home advantage.
“We needed to know how the pitch behaves, would it be tacky? Is the ball coming on or not, those were the things we didn’t do well, I think the batting needs to get better,” Dhoni was quoted as saying during the post-match presentation ceremony.
MS Dhoni backs his opening batsmen
After Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat, CSK scoring 131/4 in 20 overs was undoubtedly below par. CSK losing their Top Three for 32 runs in the powerplay gave a significant advantage to the opposition. Being asked about the opening batsmen, Dhoni hoped of their experience coming good in the next match.
“These are the best batsmen we have got, it looks like we are are batting well, but at times, but in different games, they pull off shots that shouldn’t be played. These are the players who we have banked on, they have the experience and they should know to assess the conditions better. Hopefully, we will do well in the next game,” Dhoni said.
“I think we were a bit unlucky”
With Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja in the side, CSK fans must have expected them to restrict Indians under 132 runs. However, it was a game-changing innings from Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav which countered any sort of potential threat on the turning track.
“I think we were a bit unlucky at times [talking about bowling], some balls dropped right in the middle, a few catches weren’t taken. We perhaps had to bowl slightly away from the batsmen, could have slowed down the pace and bowl with more variations. But we didn’t have runs on the board, so every boundary conceded in a 130 defense was bad,” Dhoni added.
Before concluding, Dhoni talked about having another chance to enter the finals of IPL 2019. “It isn’t good to lose games at such times, but it is good that we finished in the top two [at No. 2].
“Rather then going over the wicket [straight to the finals], we now need to go round the wicket [to qualifier 2]. That means the journey takes a longer time. But luckily, we finished in the top-two and that gives us a second chance,” Dhoni concluded.
