Chennai Super Kings won the match against Mumbai Indians by 20 runs.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) in their eighth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 19). With the win over MI, CSK are now top of the points table leaving Delhi Capitals (DC) behind in Net Run Rate.
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag praised MS Dhoni's captaincy in the match which helped them defend a target of 157 runs against MI. While speaking with Cricbuzz, Sehwag said the CSK captain has the sharpest mind among all the captains in the current IPL season.
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“MS Dhoni’s captaincy was spot on, no doubt about that. He doesn’t plan before the game. He observes the things on the field and takes calls accordingly. He watches the opposition batsmen and deploys bowling attack according to that. He anticipates in such a way that if a batter is comfortable against pace, he brings in a spinner and vice-versa,” he said.
Sehwag pointed out Dhoni's strategy to get Ishan Kishan out which worked for Dwayne Bravo. “The best example was when he set the field for Dwayne Bravo. Four fielders were inside the circle to stop singles and generate the possibilities of a wicket. And that's how, they got rid of Ishan Kishan.
“Indeed, he’s a good captain but, his bowlers bowl according to the field setup. If anybody has the sharpest brain in this league, it’s MS Dhoni,” he added.
MI's stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard has always been a threat for CSK and his dismissal was the turning point of the match. Josh Hazlewood managed to get Pollard out LBW.
“For me the turning point was bringing in Josh Hazlewood against Kieron Pollard. Because he knew, if he gets a spinner to bowl, Pollard won’t spare the bowler. So, I think, the game changed from there,” he concluded.
Opting to bat first, Dhoni-led CSK looked in huge trouble after losing 4 wickets for 24 runs in the powerplay. They also lost Ambati Rayudu due to injury off Adam Milne's delivery after he was hit on the elbow.
CSK could still put up a fighting total of 156/6, thanks to Ruturaj Gaikwad for his unbeaten 88-run innings. He stitched up a partnership of 81 runs with Ravindra Jadeja to bring them back on track.
Then a cameo from Bravo (23 off 8) and Gaikwad's outstanding acceleration in the death overs put them in a good position. MI failed to chase down the target and lost the match by 20 runs. Bravo bagged three wickets and Deepak Chahar picked up two wickets for CSK.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)