IPL 2019: Match 5, DC vs CSK - A Good Victory But Plenty of Areas To Work On - MS Dhoni

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) continued their winning run as they beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla to make a good start to this campaign. Despite making it two out of two, skipper MS Dhoni said there are plenty of areas they need to work despite winning it safely.

Shane Watson gave the defending champions a good start in pursuit of 148 runs set by the home side. Despite losing Ambati Rayudu at the other end, Watson gave the Delhi bowlers a good beating well-backed by Suresh Raina. They soon reached 73 runs within seven overs before Amit Mishra got Watson out. During his short stay at the crease, Watson scored 44 runs off just 26 deliveries including four boundaries and three massive sixes.

Suresh Raina departed soon too but Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni batted safely to take Chennai Super Kings close to the winning runs. Chennai faltered once again to lose Jadhav but Dwayne Bravo took their side home.

Clinical bowling effort from Chennai

Previously, the Windies all-rounder returned with three wickets to restrict Delhi Capitals for 147runs. Prithvi Shaw provided the impetus at the top for Delhi but he departed early. Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer were cautious in their approach and ate up too many balls. They added 43 runs for the second wicket to set a good platform for the power-hitters to come lower down the order. But the visitors pulled things back in the last five overs of the innings.

Dwayne Bravo with his slower ones was exceptional on this double-paced track. He picked up three wickets in just a span of six balls which included the ones of Rishabh Pant and Dhawan too. That triggered a collapse and Delhi failed to push the ante in the final few overs. Especially Pant’s wicket shifted the momentum of the game as he once looked to take the game away from the opponent.

Following Chennai’s win, MS Dhoni credited his bowlers to restrict the opponents within 150 runs. He also noted that they are not a good fielding side and need to cover it up with experience. In conclusion, Dhoni added that they still need to work on certain areas despite getting two back to back wins.

Here is what MS Dhoni said:

“The wicket turned more than expected in the first innings. In the second innings, there was enough dew. The bowlers did well to restrict them to 150. The batsmen we have like a bit of pace, and like it to come on to the bat. Losing Ngidi at the start was a big blow because he was the quickest, but other than that we were well-covered in all the areas.

I don’t think we will be a very good fielding side, but we will be a safe fielding side. You don’t want the XI to push too hard and get injured. We might bleed a few runs and make up for that with experience. We haven’t done well at the death, so plenty of areas to work on, but still a good victory.