IPL 2021: They Just Took The Game Away From Us In First 6 overs - MS Dhoni After Loss To RR

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni cited the lack of potency from his bowlers in the powerplay during Rajasthan Royals‘ chase as the primary reason for their loss. The Royals defeated the table-toppers by 7 wickets, chasing 190 with 15 balls to spare.

Rajasthan Royals had finished the powerplay at 81/1 after Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis assaulted the CSK bowlers with the Indian youngster recording his fifty off just 19 balls; Lewis got out in the 6th over after scoring 27 runs off 12 balls, but MS Dhoni believes CSK had been almost pushed out of the game by then by the two left-handers.

Another left-hander in Shivam Dube ensured that CSK didn’t make any comeback this time as he carted around the opposition bowlers for his 31-ball half-century.

This had come after Ruturaj Gaikwad’s terrific century had taken CSK to 189, which MS Dhoni felt was a “good score”. He praised the RR batters for their gung-ho approach and the perfect execution of it.

“A bad toss to lose. 190 was a good score, and the dew made it flat, and the ball started coming on well. You needed to bat well, and they did that, and put pressure on the bowlers. They just took the game away in the first 6 overs. 250 would’ve been closer to par (says sarcastically), given the way they were going,” MS Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

It was a brilliant innings from Ruturaj Gaikwad: MS Dhoni

The CSK skipper lauded Ruturaj Gaikwad’s “brilliant innings”. The young opener reached his hundred, off 60 balls, with a huge six on the ball of CSK’s innings.

“It was stopping a bit when their wrist-spinners were bowling, and it started coming on better later, that’s when Ruturaj capitalised really well. Often when you lose the game it can get brushed under the carpet but it was a brilliant innings. I think the batsmen must assess quickly what is a good score, and you tend to go hard in the T20 format and then realise that it’s not a 160-180 wicket. They assessed the conditions quickly, and they didn’t let pressure get to the middle order.”

MS Dhoni also admitted that he missed the likes of Deepak Chahar, who was rested, as the seamer is well-known for his powerplay exploits when he regularly gives his side breakthrough with the new ball.

“Deepak was really good with the new ball in earlier games, and we did miss him because today the bowlers were under the pump. We could have used the dimensions better in terms of setting fields too. It’s important to forget but also learn from this game because there’s no point learning if this happens in a playoff match,” MS Dhoni concluded.

Despite Delhi Capitals’ win earlier in the day and a heavy loss for CSK, MS Dhoni’s side remains at the top of the table. They will meet Rishabh Pant’s team on Monday in Dubai.

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