How MS Dhoni Inspired Dwayne Bravo To Three-Wicket Haul Against KKR

MS Dhoni might have lost touch with the bat but his wicket-keeping skills and reading of the game still continues to make the difference for CSK. The MS Dhoni-led side came agonizingly close to chase down the target in the IPL 2020 fixture against KKR but the fell short by 10 runs and plenty of criticsm followed.

Asked to bowl, KKR lost Shubman Gill early. But opening for the first time, Rahul Tripathi played the role of a sheet anchor and guided his side to the score of 167 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Dwayne Bravo, who was the pick of the bowlers for CSK, dismissed him for 81 runs off 51 deliveries.

I was looking to be defensive but MS Dhoni wanted me to hit the hard lengths: Dwayne Bravo

Bravo missed out on the initial matches in the IPL 2020 as he was recovering from injury. But he looked in good form with the ball as he returned figures of 3/37 in the match. Bravo said that it was possible only because MS Dhoni wanted him to hit the hard lengths and keep the new batsman on strike as much as possible.

“I was looking to be defensive but MS Dhoni wanted me to hit the hard lengths and keep the new batsman on strike for as long as possible. It is good to have this experience around and have these discussions. I stuck to bowling the hard lengths and it worked,” Bravo said.

“It is a very good batting wicket and there isn’t much grip. Most batsmen look for my slower balls. The yorker is the best ball and the safest ball. The game plan was to bowl wide and bowl as many yorkers as possible.”

Chasing a below-par target of 168 runs, CSK lost in-form Faf du Plessis early. Shane Watson, however, continued on his good run as he notched up a half-century of 40 balls to put his side on the top. Ambati Rayudu also chipped in with important runs but MS Dhoni, who came in at No.4, struggled to score runs with ease.

CSK came close in the chase but lost the match by 10 runs. Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja played quick-fire cameos while Kedar Jadhav looked out of touch. There were also questions raised on the Dhoni’s captaincy as Bravo was not sent up the order to bat.

By the virtue of the loss, CSK remain at fifth spot in the points table with only two wins from six matches.