‘MS Dhoni made me realise that bowlers are under more pressure than batters at the death': Dwaine Pretorious

Pretorious is currently in India with the South African squad, gearing up for the five-match T20I series starting in New Delhi on June 9, said Dhoni made him believe that a bowler is under more pressure than a batter in the death overs.

South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorious has learnt a lot from former India captain MS Dhoni during his stint with Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022. But the right-arm pacer who is also a handy bat lower down the order rated staying calm in pressure situations as the "biggest" learning from the CSK captain. Pretorius said Dhoni believes anything is possible.

MS Dhoni of the Chennai Superkings (PTI)

"As a bowler, you can still lose the match if you have to defend 18 off the last three balls and as a batter you can win it. It was a fresh mindset. He doesn't get too excited. He doesn't get too down on himself. Anything is always possible and I love that about him. He is very optimistic. He believes he can do anything." Pretorius told ESPNCricinfo.

Pretorious is currently in India with the South African squad, gearing up for the five-match T20I series starting in New Delhi on June 9, said Dhoni made him believe that a bowler is under more pressure than a batter in the death overs.

"The biggest thing I learnt from him is how calm he is at the crease and how much he tries to take pressure off himself and put it onto the bowler. He made me realise that at the death, the batter isn't under more pressure, it's actually the bowler that is under more pressure," he said.

Pretorious batted with Dhoni when the legendary cricketer rolled the clock back against the Mumbai Indians in an IPL 2022 match on April 21 at the DY Patil Stadium. Pretorious and Dhon stitched an important partnership during CSK's 156-run chase. The tall South African was dismissed towards the end but Dhoni hung in there and took CSK over the line even though 17 runs were needed in the last five balls of the match.

Pretorious said he wants to bring that aspect into his game. "I am going to try and bring that into my game: the calmness but also that self-belief that from any position, any game can be won."

CSK had a forgettable season with only four wins in 14 matches. They finished at number 9 in the points table by marginally pipping Mumbai Indians on run rate.

Pretorious, however, said the "experienced" in the CSK ranks helped them get through the tough situations.

"What was nice about the CSK franchise is that it is very experienced. We all understand that cricket doesn't always go your way," Pretorius said. "It's very important to just take the positives out of a bad season and try and build for a stronger future. It's all about building for the next year or three years and trying to make sure a bad season is not a complete loss."