Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had another great outing at Chepauk, as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by seven wickets on Friday (April 21) to move to the third position on the points table with eight points from six matches.
CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first, as his bowlers delivered a fine performance collectively to restrict SRH to 134/7. Abhishek Sharma top-scored with 34, while Ravindra Jadeja was the most successful bowler with figures of 3/22.
In reply, Devon Conway (77*) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (35) put on 87 runs for the first wicket to all but seal the game for their team. Eventually, CSK won with 8 balls to spare and kept their unbeaten record intact against SRH at Chepauk.
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After the match during the post-match presentation, Dhoni thanked the Chennai fans for their love and support towards him and the CSK franchise, as the game was once again played in front of a near full capacity crowd.
“Whatever said and done, it's the last phase of my career, however long I play, important to enjoy it. They always stay late to listen to me. Not getting enough chances to bat, but no complaint. After two years the fans have had the opportunity to come here and watch, feels good to be here. Crowd has given us a lot of love and affection.” he said.
Dhoni then spoke about his decision to bowl first and appreciated Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana's performance, as he took 1/22 in his four overs.
“I was hesitant to bat second because I had that feeling there won't be a lot of dew. When there are chances dew, you have to bat second. Spinners once they came in, bowled a very good length. Fast bowlers once they came back, especially Pathirana, bowled superbly. You need time to pick his action. We have seen with Malinga - someone who has an awkward action and who is very consistent with line and length - it's difficult to score off him,”
“I always tell them (bowlers) that the first preference of field setting is with you. I give them suggestions based on the batter and tell them if I feel something won't work. They are executing their plans well,” he added.
Dhoni then concluded on a lighter note, as he jokingly complained to Harsha Bhogle about not getting the best catch award for his terrific catch of Aiden Markram off Maheesh Theekshana.
“Still, they didn't give me the best catch award. I was in such a wrong position. Just because we wear gloves, people think it's easy. I felt it was a fantastic catch. A long time back I still remember one game - Rahul Dravid was keeping and he caught one like that. Definitely old, can't shy away from that. Unless you're Sachin paaji, who started playing when he was 16,” he said.
