Maheesh Theekshana's run out miss would not have had any impact whatsoever on the outcome of the match. Chennai Super Kings were well on their way to a comfortable victory against Delhi Capitals but CSK captain MS Dhoni, like most skippers, expects nothing short of 100% from his cricketers every time on the cricket field. The legendary captain, therefore, was not impressed when Theekshana's slip up at the bowler's end gave DC cricketer Kuldeep Yadav a life.
It transpired in the third ball of the 15th over of DC's chase. Shardul Thakur tapped a Theekshana delivery towards mid-wicket and wanted to come back for a couple which clearly wasn't on. The fielder quickly gathered the ball and released it. The throw wasn't the best but was enough to run Kuldeep out, who had almost given up the hopes of reaching the crease on time.
In a lacklustre effort, Theekshana just stuck his hand out without really making an attempt to gather the ball cleanly. Kuldeep, who was not even in the frame when the throw reached the Sri Lankan spinner, reached home safely, much to the dismay of Dhoni, who was seen making hand gestures for Theekshana, perhaps telling the spinner to get behind the wickets.
Watch Video: MS Dhoni reacts after Theekshana misses an easy run out in CSK vs DC match
Kuldeep was dismissed in the next over by Simarjeet Singh. CSK displayed a clinical show to beat DC by a huge margin of 91 runs at the DY Patil Sports Complex in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Kuldeep was dismissed in the next over by Simarjeet Singh. CSK displayed a clinical show to beat DC by a huge margin of 91 runs at the DY Patil Sports Complex in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
{{/usCountry}}Dhoni termed CSK's performance a 'perfect' one but rued the fact that it did not come early on in the tournament.
"It would have been better if we would have had a win like this somewhere early. It was a perfect game. The batters did really well. It was a toss where we wanted to win and field first, but in the heart, I was fine to lose the toss," Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.
Put in to bat, CSK's Devon Conway completed a hat-trick of half-centuries with a superb 87 off 49 balls to set up a winning score of 208 for 6 in 20 overs.The scoreboard pressure was always mounting on Capitals as they finally managed 117 in 17.4 overs with Moeen (3/13 in 4 overs) taking wickets of Mitchell Marsh (25 off 20 balls) and skipper Rishabh Pant (21 off 11 balls) in quick succession to finish the contest.
"Runs on the board really helps, and it was important to restrict their big-hitters. Both Simarjeet and Mukesh have taken time to mature. They have the capability, the more they play, the better they'll get at game sense. It is ultimately about reading which is a good delivery to bowl and which is a delivery to not bowl," Dhoni said.