The Chennai Super Kings beats Sunrisers Hyderabad at Dubai. It was a significant match for MS Dhoni and his side as they had before this only won 2 out of 7 matches in IPL 2020.
For the first time, this season MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. The CSK batsmen in this match batted with a lot more purpose and never got stuck at the crease.
CSK Win By 20 Runs Against SRH
Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu made vital contributions and played a critical role in talking CSK to a total of 167. MS Dhoni too played an exciting cameo as he scored 21 from 13 balls. Also, in the end, it was Ravindra Jadeja who provided the late order impetus and scored 25 runs in mere 10 deliveries.
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The pitch expected got slower in the second half that made life difficult for the SRH batsmen. Kane Williamson was the lone warrior in the run chase as he gave his side an outside chance to win.
Batsmen Showed Purpose And Assessed The Conditions: MS Dhoni
Williamson held the batting of SRH together and played a knock of 57 runs. When he fell trying to score quick runs it became a mountain to climb for SRH.
In the death overs, the likes of Rashid Khan and Vijay Shankar tried their level best but to no avail. The CSK bowlers held their nerves as they secured crucial 2 points.
Here’s what the winning captain MS Dhoni had to say in the post-match presentation.
“Ultimately what really matters is you getting two points. What T20s have shown is that there are a few games that don’t go your way and then there are some that go your way even when you haven’t earned it. Today I felt we did a very good job even in the batting. There was some purpose with the bat and the batsmen assessed the situation very well”.
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“With a total like 160, it all depends on the start you get in the first six overs. The fast bowlers did the job, the spinners came into play and it was one game that was as close to being perfect. It was a par score and I usually assess scores after the first six overs. If there are misfields in the first six overs then a par score becomes an under-par score”.
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“A lot depended on the fast bowlers. I just told them to be expressive on the field and hit their areas. There are some two paced balls, some swing and some don’t swing, some get extra bounce. What was needed was good execution of the plans and that was done by the fast bowlers,” MS Dhoni said post the win against SRH.