Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their second loss in IPL 2020, as they fell short by 44-runs while chasing 176 posted by the Delhi Capitals in the game at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Chasing 176, CSK were off to a slow start as Murali Vijay and Shane Watson could add merely 23 runs to the opening stand, and were dismissed in the powerplay, with the scorecard being 34/2.
The middle-order couldn’t contribute at the required pacea and the pressure kept on mounting as they lost wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) in the 10th over and then Kedar Jadhav (26) in the 16th over.
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With 75 runs needed of 24 balls, all eyes were on the duo of Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni to get those big-hits to display.
While they scored 10 runs in the immediate over of pacer Avesh Khan, the asking rate still skyrocketed as they now required 65 runs in 18 deliveries.
The chase was completely cut down with du Plessis’ dismissal in the 18th over, and followed by Dhoni’s departure in the final over, who scored 12-ball 15.
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It wasn’t a good game for us: MS Dhoni
Highlighting on the loss versus Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals, Dhoni said that there’s a lack of steam in the batting lineup and they are yet to figure out the best possible combination.
“I don’t think it was a good game for us. There was no dew, but the wicket did slow down. We are lacking a bit of steam in the batting and that hurts. The run rafe keeps on mounting after such slow starts and adds pressure, we need to figure that out. We need to come back with a clearer picture, looking at the combination,” said Dhoni in the post-match presentation after the loss versus Delhi Capitals.
The 39-year-old mentioned how Rayudu’s presence in the playing XI could improve their team balance and offer them some more experiments in the bowling department.
“Maybe, the team balance will get better once Rayudu comes back in the next game. That will give us the room to experiment with an extra bowler perhaps. There are quite a few things we can think about. We are one batter extra to start off, so the players need to step up,” added the Ranchi-born.
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The three-time IPL winning skipper was clearly unhappy with the way his bowlers performed during the game and added how they need to improve their line and lengths.
Among the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja was pretty expensive in the last outing, while Piyush Chawla grabbed 2/33 as he dismissed the Delhi Capitals’ openers. In the pace department, Sam Curran (1/27) was effective alongside Josh Hazlewood (0/28) in their quota of four overs, while Deepak Chahar (0/38) had an off day at work.
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Spinners, who have been CSK’s forte in the last couple of years, clearly haven’t been consistent in the conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They have been conceding too many boundaries in the matches contested so far and as Dhoni mentioned in his own words they haven’t ‘come to the party yet’.
“We need to get better with our lengths, lines and pace. I think the spinners have not come to the party yet. We are bowling good deliveries, but we are giving away the boundary deliveries a bit too often.”
With two losses and a sole win, CSK are currently placed at the fifth spot in the points table with an NRR of -0.840.
Chennai Super Kings will play the next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on October 2 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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