Dhoni’s suggestion came keeping in mind the Sri Lankan pacer's sling-shot action.
Opting to bowl first, CSK restricted MI to a below-par 139/8. Matheesha Pathirana starred with the ball for the hosts, returning with the stunning figures of 3 for 15 in his four-over spell. Deepak Chahar (2-18) and Tushar Deshpande (2-26) also claimed two scalps each.
In reply, the Super Kings overhauled the target in 17.4 overs, with key contributions from Devon Conway (44), Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) and Shivam Dube (26*).
After the game, CSK skipper MS Dhoni heaped praise on Pathirana, advising the Sri Lankan pacer to stay away from Test cricket and stick to the white-ball format if he wants to have a great future.
Dhoni’s suggestion came keeping in mind the bowler’s sling-shot action, which could lead to injuries.
“People who don't have very clean (conventional) action, batsmen have a difficult time picking it and when trying to go after the bowler. But his consistency, variation, pace makes him special. What's important is to keep an eye on how much cricket he is playing. I feel he should not play red-ball cricket, not even get close to it, even play only ICC tournaments with ODIs and keep the rest as less as possible, because he's not someone who'll change a lot,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“This is what he'll do. So you can always use him at crucial times. But make sure he's fit and available for all the ICC tournaments and he'll be a great asset for Sri Lanka. Not to forget, he's a really young boy. Last time he came, he was very lean but has put on muscle and is stronger. I feel he'll serve for a long time in Sri Lankan cricket but he'll have to keep an eye on how much he bowls," he added.
It was CSK’s sixth win in the ongoing IPL season from 11 games and they are currently placed at the second spot on the points table featuring 10 teams.
Talking about the victory, the CSK captain said: "Crucial game for a simple reason: the middle of the table has a logjam. This win gives a cushion, but we can't get comfortable with it because one or two teams are close and are facing each other. We haven't had a couple of games go in our way, so, good to be on the winning side.”
“Frankly, I was slightly doubtful, I wanted to bat first, but the think tank together said there is chances of rain. I had a simple calculation that the game starts at 3:30pm and if we are batting first and get about 2 hours to play, a major part of the game would be done with. But I was slightly outnumbered and I said 'let's go with the majority. Ultimately, our strength has been to talk about things and decide what's best for the team and go with the majority when there's confusion. As I said, it was slightly confusing as I felt the wicket could slow down. It has always been very good initially and I strongly felt that the rain would come after the majority of the game is done and would not have a big impact," he further remarked.
(India Today Inputs)