MS Dhoni was an elated captain after Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) “close to perfect” outing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Dubai on Tuesday (October 13).
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CSK produced an all-round performance to defeat SRH by 20 runs, which was their third victory in the ongoing IPL from eight games.
Opting to first, CSK posted 167/7 in 20 overs with notable contributions from Shane Watson (42 off 38 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (41 off 34 balls).
Defending the total, CSK restricted SRH to 147/8 in 20 overs. Karn Sharma (2-37) and Dwayne Bravo (2-25) claimed two scalps each, while Sam Curran (1-18), Shardul Thakur (1-10) and Jadeja (1-21) chipped in with wicket apiece.
"I think ultimately what matters is you get two points. What T20 has shown is you have a few games that don't go in your favour, at the same time sometimes you don't earn wins," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Today we did well, with the batting intent. This was one game as close to perfect as possible. One or two overs we could have been slightly better, but it was a very good game. I think it was a par score. I usually assess scores depending on the first six overs. A lot depended on the fast bowlers. I told them to be expressive. You don't have to try and swing it. The wicket was two-paced. What was needed was good execution of the plans and they did that," he added.
CSK promoted Sam Curran to open the innings and the England all-rounder responded with a fine knock of 21-ball 31.
Praising Curran’s effort, Dhoni said: "Curran is a complete cricketer for us and you need that seaming allrounder. He strikes the ball nicely, he can bat up the order, he plays spinners well. He can give us those 15-45 runs if you need momentum. I feel as the tournament progresses, he'll get even more comfortable with death bowling. That's one of the reasons we kept him away at the death. There's plenty we can improve, but we are good right now."
CSK will take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in their next fixture at Sharjah on Saturday (October 17).
