Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the lull period by his batters in the middle overs as the reason for his team’s three-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match here on Wednesday night. Dhoni (32 not out off 17 balls, 1×4, 3×6) could not hit a last-ball six for victory after getting his team close, with 21 needed off the last over. CSK finished on 172-6 with Dhoni unable to end his 200th game for CSK in a manner he would have wanted to on home turf.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman felt the fate of the match was decided between the seventh to 15th over in which Devon Conway (50 off 38 balls), Shivam Dube (eight off nine) and Moeen Ali (seven off 10) could not get going against RR spinners R Ashwin (2-25) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2-27). Chasing a target of 176 for victory, CSK were well placed at 78-1 in the 10th over, before RR’s spinners choked the CSK batters, reducing them to 113-6.
“I don’t think there was a lot [of help] for the spinners. Yes, they have experienced spinners, so they bowled well. They were bowling the right length, but in that period we had too many dot balls. If the wicket is slow, if it’s stopping and turning, I can understand, but with the set batsman and the new batsman going in, I don’t think it was difficult,” Dhoni, 41, said.
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The former India captain insisted that his batters should take ownership after the loss. “The ownership needs to come from the batsmen. We needed a bit more strike rotation. We saw the amount of dew, and after the first few overs, it became relatively easy. We should have done better with the bat,” added Dhoni, who along with Jadeja (25 off 15, 1×4, 2×6) nearly pulled off an improbable win with some fireworks in the end, but fell short. The match ended with CSK one hit away from victory having needed 54 from 18 balls at one stage.
“We kept it slightly late in the middle overs. We could have taken more singles,” said Dhoni, who is nursing a knee injury, which is hindering his movement somewhat, according to CSK head coach Stephen Fleming.
29
No. of dots balls CSK’s batsmen played v RR (excluding the wicket-taking deliveries)
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