Trust MS Dhoni to always come up with a witty response. Or at times an unexpected one. Chennai Super Kings were completely outplayed by the Rajasthan Royals in an IPL 2021 match in Abu Dhabi on Saturday but Dhoni somehow found time to be sarcastic. However, he did accept the courage of the opposition and lauded RR for their stupendous run chase.
"250 would've been closer to par, given the way they were going," Dhoni said sarcastically when RR chased down the 190-run target in 17.3 overs with seven wickets in the bank.
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The CSK captain credited the RR openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis for taking the game away in the first six overs of the chase.
"A bad toss to lose. 190 was a good score, and the dew made it flat, and the ball started coming on well. You needed to bat well, and they did that, and put pressure on the bowlers. They just took the game away in the first six overs," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
Lewis and Jaiswal put on a 77-run stand in just five overs that gave CSK no chance to pull the game back. They did get the wickets of Lewis and Jaiswal, who made a 19-ball fifty, in quick succession but then Shivam Dube took centre stage and struck his maiden IPL fifty off 31 balls. He remained unbeaten on 64. Jaiswal and Dube's blazing fifties took some shine off Ruturaj Gaikwad's maidenT20 hundred but Dhoni said it was a knock to remember.
{{/usCountry}}Lewis and Jaiswal put on a 77-run stand in just five overs that gave CSK no chance to pull the game back. They did get the wickets of Lewis and Jaiswal, who made a 19-ball fifty, in quick succession but then Shivam Dube took centre stage and struck his maiden IPL fifty off 31 balls. He remained unbeaten on 64. Jaiswal and Dube's blazing fifties took some shine off Ruturaj Gaikwad's maidenT20 hundred but Dhoni said it was a knock to remember.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | RR vs CSK highlights: Dube, Jaiswal hit blazing fifties, RR beat CSK by 7 wickets to stay alive
"It was stopping a bit when their wrist spinners were bowling, and it started coming on better later, that's when Ruturaj capitalised really well. Often when you lose the game it can get brushed under the carpet but it was a brilliant innings," he said.
"I think the batsmen must assess quickly what is a good score, and you tend to go hard in the T20 format and then realise that it's not a 160-180 wicket. They assessed the conditions quickly, and they didn't let pressure get to the middle order. Deepak played really well, and the bowlers were under the pump. We could have used the dimensions better in terms of setting fields too. It's important to forget but also learn from this game, because there's no point learning if this happens in a playoff match."