CSK 211/4 (20.0 Ovs)
DD 198/5 (20.0 Ovs)
Chennai Super Kings won by 13 runs
CSK has made it a habit of taking the matches to the final overs, their bowlers in the end almost ensured a final ball finish again. But there were too many runs in the bag, courtesy the power-hitting of MS Dhoni who is striking the ball as well as he has ever done in his life. So, CSK are back at the top of the points table because of a superior net-run rate. Hope you would have enjoyed our coverage, this is Varun Dixit signing off on the behalf of Kumar Abhisekh, Sriram,Hariprasad, Ramakrishnan and our scorer Vinod. Don't forget to join us for the RCB vs MI encounter tomorrow, it promises to be a thriller.
Shane Watson, Man Of The Match - "I wanted to help the team in the previous games but to be able to play this innings against DD is a good confidence builder. I was targeting the short side of the ground and wind was also blowing in that direction. It was good to get a few out of the middle. Trent Boult is a world class bowler and MS hit him really well. He is hitting the ball incredibly, as well as he has ever hit".
MS Dhoni (2/2): "Looking at the wicket we thought we needed an overseas batsman. I think Sam needed a bit of a rest. With Faf opening and Rayudu in the middle, it gives more stability to the middle order and the batting order looks stronger. Rayudu can bat anywhere in the order and he is keen to take any responsibility for the team. We wanted fast bowlers to come in. Shardul has not come good. So, we thought a gap of a few games will help him. Lungi coming in and doing good for us was important because we thought we needed pace on this wicket. He has impressed me right from South Africa. If he keeps coming good it will be good for us. We have to keep in mind the eliminators and the finals if we make it. Those would be played on the small grounds. The margin of error at this level is not much. Whatever is not working, one has to get a marker and work on it. Overall, we are a happy side and the mood is good. But it helps if you are winning and learning. Bowlers have to adapt otherwise we will have to look at other options."
MS Dhoni: (1/2) "Back is bad but nothing much can be done. Because there is no rest period in the middle. I have not been training much because of it. There is a bit of pain but I think I will manage. It is very important for us to get a good platform and then I can promote myself up the order. It is important for us to get off to a good start and not always in terms of runs but get a good partnership. Then I can promote myself to 4 or 5 and then I have an extra batsman behind me. So, I take the risk when needed. If you bat too down the order, you don't know when to go after the bowlers. It is more fun when you go in at the 8th or the 10th over, when the bowler does not know when you are going to go for it and keep him guessing."
Shreyas Iyer: "Too many runs on the board. I would like to complain about the first ball wicket (smiles). It did not go our way and that could have made a massive impact in the match. The way Watson started it totally changed the game. Not only me, the whole dressing room and obviously you also think the same - that ball hit the pad first and then the bat (laughs). We got really close and it is a positive going into the next match. We need to win 6 in the remaining 6 matches and that is the only motivation going forward. We need to point out the mistakes we have done and we will try to bounce back strong. We will be having a meeting with management regarding the team changes. If we try to keep the team stable, we will do well in the upcoming matches."
Lungi Ngidi: Very exciting moment. Very lovely to be out there. In pressure situations, you find out how good you are. Definitely, your margin for error is very small. Too full and it is six. Too short and it goes for six as well. At the end when the nerves get up, it is good to play under MS. Cool and calm.
CSK are home by 13 runs, but MS Dhoni wasn't happy with the way the runs were leaked at the death overs. Definitely a case of boosting the net run rate with a bigger margin of win. Anyway, they have got those two crucial points. Rishabh Pant played a great hand, fought a lone battle after running his skipper - Shreyas Iyer - out. Vijay Shankar stepped up the gas, but he had too much to do in the end. Threatened CSK with a hat-trick of sixes in the penultimate over, but Dhoni knew the game was in control and it was just a matter of not panicking.
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