Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was impressed by MS Dhoni’s ability to read the pitch. MS Dhoni showed his tactical acumen as he correctly predicted how the pitch will play. On Wednesday, Chennai Super Kings thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets.
David Warner won the toss and opted to bat. At the toss, the CSK skipper was asked if he preferred to bowl and he said he was extremely happy to do so. Dhoni said that the pitch will be tacky during the first phase and dew will play a role.
“We were looking to bowl first. Looks a bit tacky and the boys who practised yesterday said there was quite a bit of dew,” Dhoni had said at the toss.
SRH captain David Warner struggled to get going. He scored 57 of 55 balls. During the post-match presentation, he stated that his innings was one of the reasons why his team failed to get a big score. Chasing worked in favour of the men in yellow as they chased down the total with ease.
Will back MS Dhoni’s pitch assessment – Daniel Vettori
In pursuit of a 172-run target, CSK rode on twin half-centuries from openers Faf du Plessis (56) and Ruturaj Gaikwad to wrap up the chase comfortably and win the game by seven wickets. Dhoni’s assessment of the pitch helped CSK once again, Vettori, praised the CSK skipper’s reading of the pitch and said his assessment should always be backed no matter what.
“Should back Dhoni’s assessment no matter what, I think that’s what we’ve learned from all of this,” Vettori told ESPNcricinfo.
“I think Sam Curran bowled well upfront I think he got the important wicket of Jonny Bairstow and because of the way SRH are set up when they lose one of their opening batters, they can at times look a bit tentative.
“We saw how Warner just kept hitting fielders and combined with some good bowling from CSK They used their resources pretty well,” Vettori added.
Chennai Super Kings currently sit at the top of the points table. They have 5 wins in 6 matches and look strong enough to make it to the playoffs. They are ticking all the right boxes and will hope to continue this winning form.