MS Dhoni minced no words to after Chennai Super Kings' loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL 2022 match at the MCA stadium in Pune. The CSK captain blamed the batters of his side for not being able to chase down the 174-run target set by RCB. CSK could only manage 160 runs in their 20 overs and lost the match by 13 runs. This defeat almost put them out of playoff contention for this year's IPL.
After the match, Dhoni, who was handed back the CSK captaincy by Ravindra Jadeja ahead of last match, blamed the batters of his side.
"We did well to restrict them to 170-odd runs. We had to get off to a good start, everything was up to the mark and what let us down was the batsmanship," Dhoni said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
CSK were 54 for no loss in 6.3 overs but they kept losing wickets to eventually fall shot of the target. It was CSK's seventh loss of the season and they are currently in the 9th spot with 6 points in 10 matches.
Dhoni questioned the shot selection of his batters and rued not being able to stitch partnerships in the middle.
"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.
{{/usCountry}}"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.
{{/usCountry}}"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. We can look back at some of the shots, if we take care of those things.. chasing is about calculations and batting first is more about instinct. Ultimately as a batter or bowler you are in the middle and you have to decide," he added.
Winning captain Faf du Plessis said his team was in need of this win after three successive losses.
"We definitely needed that. We put up a decent total. We are moving in the right direction. We have been very good in the bowling department," he said."I thought 165 would be nice to get.The fielding was amazing. Some great catching and good bowling indeed."He said his team will have to "keep improving in the batting department.""We want one of the top four to bat through.
RCB's Harshal Patel was adjudged the Man of the Match for his three for 35.
"I think in the first over, the slower balls I tried to bowl it into the wicket but it kind of floated on to the bat. I have been trying to improve my sequencing," he said.
(With PTI inputs)