IPL 2021: The First Six Balls I Played Could Have Cost Us In Another Game - MS Dhoni On His Slow Start vs RR

Chennai Super Kings captain, MS Dhoni has acknowledged his slow start versus Rajasthan Royals on Monday, saying that it could have cost his side a game as well. Despite his side registering a massive 45-run victory of that of Sanju Samson, MS Dhoni isn’t pleased with his own personal performance with the bat.

He came to bat in the 14th over, at the score of 125/5, and played out 5 dot balls – 4 of which to RR’s fifth bowler, Rahul Tewatia – before opening his account with a single on his 6th delivery.

MS Dhoni, who was bowled for a 2-ball duck in his first game this season, couldn’t middle balls properly, and managed to score two boundaries – one of which was off a full toss – before getting out for an uncomfortable 18 runs off 17 balls.

Sam Curran’s 13 off 6 and Dwayne Bravo’s 20* off 8 took CSK to 188, which the spinners managed to defend. However, MS Dhoni believed the side could have got more lamenting on his performance as well; he “can’t guarantee” performance at any age, but is happy to keep up his fitness levels.

“I thought we could have got more. The first six balls I played could have cost us in another game. It’s true but when you’re playing, you don’t really want anyone to say he’s unfit. Performance is something that is not guaranteed.. I was not guaranteeing performances when I was 24, can’t guarantee when I am 40,” MS Dhoni said at the post-match ceremony.

“At least, if people can’t point fingers at me, saying he’s unfit, that will be a big positive for me. I have to keep up with the younger guys, They run a lot, they are very fast, it’s good to challenge them,” he added.

It was spinning and stopping a bit for the spinners: MS Dhoni

The 3-time IPL winner gave his views on the Wankhede pitch on Monday. He observed that the /spinners were getting assistance from the surface – something which hasn’t happened much at Wankhede much this season. Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali consigned RR to a capitulate from 87/2 to 95/7 from which they could never recover.

“It was spinning a bit, I don’t really mind Jos playing the reverse where it’s turning a bit. It’s important to have that sixth bowler, it always helps and it was stopping a bit for spinners. There was slightly less dew than usual. Glad we scored 188,” the CSK skipper stated.

Also Read: IPL 2021: My Job Is To Score As Many Runs At No.3, Says Moeen Ali After His Man Of The Match Performance Against Rajasthan Royals