Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni talked about the loss his side suffered in their last league game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 against Rajasthan Royals (RR). He lauded the CSK youngsters for stepping on the occasions and contributing to the side.
It’s fair to say that it was a season full of lows for CSK. But one positive that they can take away is the performances of youngsters in the team, which can be a great prospect considering the future of the franchise. The likes of Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesha Pathirana and Shivam Dube all proved their prowess and delivered in crunch situations.
The Dhoni-led side managed only four wins this season but one can say that they’ll again be the team to beat in the coming years with the kind of talent they have in their squad. They lost their last match of the season on Friday (20th May).
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CSK suffered a disappointing 5-wicket loss at the hands of RR. Batting first, they were off the brutal start with more than 70 runs in the powerplay. But after that, they lost wickets in quick succession and could manage only 150 runs with Moeen Ali being the top-scorer with 93 runs.
They then gave RR a tough fight with their bowling performance and took the game till the last over. But a half-century by Yashasvi Jaiswal (59) and an unbeaten 40-run knock by R Ashwin ensured a win for RR.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, MS Dhoni termed losing quick wickets as a reason behind his side’s loss against RR. He said it was because of this that Moeen had to change his momentum and it was difficult for him.
He added they lacked batting depth and had they lost another wicket at that stage they could’ve not even made 150. He also admitted that they were 10-15 runs short.
“What we need to realise is we're playing a batter light. Once we lost those quick wickets, Moeen had to change his momentum. I feel if one of the batters had batted with him, he could have continued his momentum. The role and responsibility got slightly swapped once we lost those wickets and that made it really difficult.
“So a batter light with the last four, they're not really known for their batting. If we went hard and lost another wicket there, we wouldn't have got anything that we would look to defend. I would say 10-15 (runs short). You need to bowl well after that. If their openers get going and if they get too many in the first six, then also 180 is not enough," MS Dhoni said.
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Dhoni talked about the youngsters who got a chance this season. Citing the example of Mukesh Choudhary, the keeper-batter said that his improvement was quite evident throughout the season.
"Whatever games they have got, they have learned a lot from it. One of the biggest examples is Mukesh. He has played all the games but what is impressive is to see from the first game to the last game how he has improved, how he can bowl at the death. Still what he will do is go back and learn out of the outings he has got. That's what we really want from players," he said.
Dhoni said that it’ll be important for all their young players to not to start from the ‘scratch’ and maintain consistency in the next season.
"Once they have got that experience, what is important from next year once they turn up from IPL is that they don't start from scratch again. That is what is needed from the youngsters and most of them have made the most of whatever chance they have got," he said.
He also mentioned ‘their Malinga’ Matheesha Pathirana, saying that the pacer will contribute for them in a big way next season.
"Our Malinga, he's really good. It's difficult to pick him and I feel he will definitely contribute next year for us in a big way," said Dhoni.
(India Today inputs)
