IPL 2022: Shot selection could have been better towards the end, feels CSK captain Dhoni
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 5 (ANI): Following his side's 13-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni said that the shot selection could have been better towards the end.
Superb bowling efforts from Harshal Patel (3/35) and Glenn Maxwell (2/22) guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 13-run win over Chennai Super Kings here at MCA stadium in Pune on Wednesday.
Fighting knocks from Devon Conway (56), Moeen Ali (34) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (28) kept hopes for CSK alive but were not enough for CSK to outplay Bangalore as a unit, as the bowlers outdid the batters in Yellow. Shahbaz Ahmed (1/27), Josh Hazlewood (1/19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (1/31) also delivered with the ball for RCB.
"We did well to restrict them to 170-odd runs. I felt in the later half it could be better and we had to get off to a good start, everything was upto the mark and what let us down was the batsmanship. When you are chasing you know what is required and at times you have to curb your instinct and see what really the situation is demanding rather than playing your shots. The shot selection could have been better towards the end. We had a good start and had wickets in hand, the surface kept getting better but we lost wickets at regular intervals," said Dhoni at the post-match presentation.
Dhoni added that chasing is about calculations and batting first is more about instinct.
"We can look back at some of the shots, if we take care of those things.. Ultimately as a batter or bowler, you are in the middle and you have to decide, I do not think that was a problem today. We need to keep looking about what went wrong, it is easy to get distracted with how many points you have. It is the mistakes and it is the process that matters rather than where you are positioned in the points table," he added.
Chasing 174, Chennai Super Kings got off a great start, with openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway rotating the strike consistently and hitting four and sixes regularly. Conway in particular looked in really great touch.
The duo completed their fifty run partnership in the sixth over of the game. At the end of the powerplay, CSK stood at 51/0, with Gaikwad (27*) and Conway (24*) standing solid.
After the powerplay, RCB struck gold in the seventh and eighth over. Shahbaz Ahmed broke the 54-run partnership between Gaikwad and Conway by dismissing the former for 28 with assistance from the substitute SS Prabhudessai's safe hands. Just after that, Maxwell dismissed Robin Uthappa in the eighth over for 1 after Prabhudessai once again delivered it for RCB with his fielding.
This brought an experienced Ambati Rayadu to the crease. CSK batter's struggles with spin continued as Maxwell also clean bowled Rayadu for 10 in the tenth over when the team's score was 75.
At the end of 10 overs, CSK stood struggling at 77/3, with Devon Conway (37*) and Moeen Ali (1*) at the crease.
However, Conway continued to look good and justified his inclusion in the team by hitting his 2nd consecutive half-century in just 33 balls with five fours and two sixes. Efforts were on from the duo to rebuild the innings all over again after three hiccups just after the powerplay.
The rebuilding efforts were disrupted yet again as Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed Conway for 56 off 37 in the 15th over, at the score of 109, with a fine catch from Shahbaz Ahmed at the deep backward square leg.
The dismissal brought all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to the crease, to join Moeen Ali. Smashing Hasaranga for a six over the long-on, Ali ended the 15th over on a high, with the scoreboard reading 118/4.
The equation was down to 56 runs off 30 deliveries. Harshal delivered the 16th over and ended it with a band after dismissing Jadeja for 3, who was caught by Kohli. This brought MS Dhoni, playing his 200th game in Yellow jersey, to the crease.
Moeen Ali continued to fight back the RCB's onslaught with the leather, smashing Harshal Patel for a six at the first ball of the 18th over. However on the very next ball, a slower delivery, he was dismissed for 34, with Siraj catching the ball at the extra cover region.
This brought Dwaine Pretorious to the crease. At the end of 18th over, CSK needed 39 off 12. There could not have been a start more perfect for Hazlewood in the 19th over, as he removed Dhoni for 2 after he was caught by Patidar.
In the last over, CSK needed to pull a herculean effort to get 31 runs in the final over. Pretorius kept hopes alive with a six on the first delivery off Patel's final over before he was caught by Kohli at the very next ball. Despite best efforts, CSK fell 13 runs short of what would have been their fourth win in the season.
Put to bat first, brilliant knocks by Faf du Plesssis, Mahipal Lomror and a quick cameo by Dinesh Karthik guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a challenging total of 173/8 in the first innings against Chennai Super Kings at the MCA Stadium here on Wednesday. (ANI)
Source: Sports