IPL 2021: Bowlers Would Have Learned Their Lessons, Says MS Dhoni After CSK’s 7 Wicket Loss To DC

IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals, led by new and young captain Rishabh Pant won their first match of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League against Chennai Super Kings by 7 wickets.

Chasing a challenging target of 189 runs, Delhi Capitals have got a brilliant start. The pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw completely dominated the proceedings and took CSK bowlers to the cleaners from the word go.

Chasing a 188-run total, Dhawan smashed 85 off 54 balls and Shaw amassed 72 in just 38 deliveries.

While the Dhawan-Shaw pair seemed unstoppable on the day, the Chennai bowlers looked rather ineffective. CSK skipper MS Dhoni also admitted that the three-time champions could’ve bowled ‘slightly’ better as dew played a vital role during the course of play.

Dhoni pointed out that dew was a big factor to play and said their batsmen did well to post 188 despite the sluggish start to the match in Mumbai.

“A lot depended on dew, and that factor played on our mind from the start and that’s why we wanted to get as many runs as possible. The batters they did a good job to reach 188, because it was tacky until dew settled in 50 minutes later.

“We could have bowled slightly better, and if batters are hitting you over the fields, that’s fair enough.

“The execution of the bowlers was poor and there were boundary balls that they bowled, but the bowlers will have learned and they will apply that in the future games,” he added.

Dhoni, whose return to competitive cricket was a forgetful one, also said that his side needed to add 15 or 20 runs more to be on the safe side. Trying to pull a delivery to the mid-wicket boundary, Dhoni fell to a second-ball duck off the bowling of young pacer Avesh Khan.

“The opposition have half an hour in a 7:30 start when the pitch is really tacky and the ball stops a bit, so we need to get 15-20 runs extra to be safe. If we get dew consistently, then 200 will be a must on a pitch like this. Their (Delhi) bowlers bowled a great line when it was stopping and seaming a bit, and the openers got really good balls in which they got out and that can happen in a game like this,” he concluded.

Notably, Chennai Super Kings play as many as 5 matches in Mumbai before heading Delhi for their 2nd leg of IPL 2021. They will next face Punjab Kings on Friday, April 16 in Mumbai.