Ex-India cricketer Virender Sehwag lauded Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for their 10-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). They had full command in the game after restricting KXIP on 178/4, which turned out to be a below-par score.
CSK's openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis stitched up a partnership of 181 runs and won the match without losing a wicket. Sehwag was impressed with how CSK players contributed to the victory.
Sehwag also commented on KXIP's performance and said only they can lose the match after getting an opportunity to bat first in Dubai. He said, "Only Punjab can lose the match even after batting first in Dubai."
The former India cricketer praised Dhoni's captaincy for turning the game by bringing in Shardul Thakur in the 18th over. He bagged two wickets of well-settled KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran.
Sehwag, who had given Dhoni 4 out of 10 for his captaincy against Rajasthan Royals, said, "18th over me turning point tha jaha Gabbar MS Dhoni ki kaptani, Jaddu ki fielding aur Shardul ki bowling ne momentum hi shift kar diya (18th over was the turning point of the match.
"MS Dhoni's captaincy, Ravindra Jadeja's fielding, and Shardul Thakur's bowling brought back the momentum in CSK's favor)."
Watson's innings came after four failures in the tournament and he was under huge pressure to perform. Sehwag was impressed with his comeback and he also praised Du Plessis, who ended up scoring 87* off 53.
"By the way the thing which has been trying to start since 19th September, that diesel engine Watson finally started. He and 'Sambha' Faf du Plessis got together and took the Punjabi lads for a tour of the stadium, hitting the ball everywhere," Sehwag said.
