IPL 2020 RR vs CSK: Mahendra Singh Dhoni Explains Why He Came Out To Bat At Number 7
Dhoni came out to bat in the 14th over when CSK were 114 for 5 and match was out of their hand. He smashed 29 not out off 17 balls with 3 sixes.
The fourth match of the 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was played on Tuesday between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals. CSK suffered a 16-run defeat in this match. Dhoni came to bat at number 7 in this match and returned not out after scoring 29 runs off 17 balls.
Since the match, Dhoni has been criticized for batting at number 7 spot despite his side chasing a mammoth target of 217 against Rajasthan Royals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Dhoni came out to bat in the 14th over when CSK were 114 for 5 and match was out of their hand. He smashed 29 not out off 17 balls with 3 sixes.
After the match, Dhoni explained the reason behind his decision to bat at number 7.
The CSK spinner said that poor start proved disastrous for his team and the extras were given away by his fast bowlers also helped Royals post a high total.
After the match, Dhoni said, “217 on the board, you have to had a very good start. That was not the case. They batted really well. Steve and Sanju. You have to give credit to their bowlers too. There was a lot of dew. They knew what lengths to bowl. Their spinners didn’t try too many things. That was an error our spinners did in their first couple of overs. Without singling out anyone, a controllable we could have controlled is no-balls. Had we not bowled no-balls, we would have been chasing 200, and it would have been a very good game.”
Regarding not coming up in the batting order, Dhoni said, “I haven’t batted for a long time. 14-day quarantine doesn’t help (why he isn’t batting higher). Also wanted to try different things, give opportunities to Sam. Have the opportunity to try different things. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to your strengths.”
CSK won the toss and gave Rajasthan Royals a chance to bat first. Rajasthan Royals scored 216 for 7 wickets in 20 overs thanks to the tremendous batting of Sanju Samson (74 off 32 balls) and Steve Smith (69 off 47 balls).
Apart from these two, Jofra Archer returned not out scoring 27 runs off 8 balls. He hit four consecutive sixes off Lungi Ngidi’s final over to shift the momentum in Rajasthan’s favour.
In reply, CSK could only manage to score 200 runs for 6 in 20 overs. Faf scored 72 off 31 balls and Dhoni scored 29 not out off 17 balls.
