Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni explained on Tuesday (September 22) the reason behind his decision to hit No. 7 despite his team chasing a mammoth 217 goal against Rajasthan Royals in the Sharjah cricket stadium.
Dhoni came out at bat when CSK was 114 of 5 at 14 and the game was out of reach. Scored 29 without 17 balls with 3 sixes.
“I haven’t hit in a long time. The 14-day quarantine doesn’t help (why isn’t he hitting higher). I also wanted to try different things, give Sam a chance. Get a chance to try different things. If it doesn’t work, you can always get back to your strengths, “Dhoni said after the 16-race loss.
The CSK spinner said the bad start proved disastrous for his team and the extras given away by his fast pitchers also helped the Royals to a high total.
“217 on the board, you have to get off to a really good start. That wasn’t the case. They hit really well. Steve and Sanju. You have to give their players credit too. There was a lot of spray. They knew what lengths of pins. Their spinners they didn’t try too many things. That was a mistake our spinners made in their first couple of overs. Without pointing out anyone, a controllable we could have controlled is no-balls. If we hadn’t thrown no-balls, we would have been chasing 200, and It would have been a very good match, “Dhoni said after the match.
Batting first, the Rajasthan Royals hit a whopping 216 total against the Chennai Super Kings thanks to Sanju Samson’s 74 on 32 balls. Steve Smith (69 of 47 balls; 4×4, 6×4) acted as the blade anchor for his side and held one end strong from the start. Chennai put together a good comeback late in the Royals’ innings, but Jofra Archer (27-of-8, 6×4) hit four straight sixes from the end of Lungi Ngidi to turn the momentum in Rajasthan’s favor.
CSK starters Murali Vijay and Shane Watson gave them a good start and reached the 50-run position in six overs. But just when CSK started to look dangerous, both starters were fired within six deliveries.
With 38 needed by the end of the final, Dhoni hit Tom Curran for three straight six, which is sure to make his fans feel like the moon despite the team’s loss.
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