Known for his ability to finish games from near impossible scenarios, Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni raised eyebrows by batting at a lower position despite his team in a stiff position in chase of 217 against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday night.
Chasing the mammoth target, CSK finished on 200/6 with RR starting their IPL 2020 campaign with a 16-run win.
Dhoni sent allrounder Sam Curran and Kedar Jadhav ahead of him in the batting order.
When asked the rationale behind the decision, the veteran replied, I haven’t batted for a long time. 14-day quarantine doesn’t help.”
Dhoni was referencing to the extra two-week quarantine period CSK players had to undergo after 13 members of their contingent tested positive for coronavirus.
CSK didn’t start well in their chase with their opener Murali Vijay run-a-ball 21. On the other hand, his opening partner Shane Watson struck 33 off 21.
The push came from Faf du Plessis who scored 72 off 37 but Dhoni never got going and after a scratchy start, did manage three sixes in the final over to remain unbeaten on 29 off 17.
“With 217 on the board, we needed a very good start which was not the case. Steve (Smith) and (Sanju) Samson batted very well. We need to give credit to their bowlers. Once you’ve seen the first innings, you knew the lengths to bowl,” Dhoni said.
“Their spinners did well to bowl away from the batsman. Our spinners made the error to bowl too full. If we would’ve maybe restricted them to 200, it would’ve been a good game,” he added.
