‘RCB would’ve won by 18th over…': Dhoni's astounding ‘Faf, Maxwell’ comment after CSK's victory in IPL 2023

Dhoni lauded that du Plessis and Maxwell were taking the game away from CSK and RCB could have finished it with a few overs to spare if they batted till end.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni said Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) could have gone all the way and chased down the mammoth 227-run target if Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell had continued batting till the end.

MS Dhoni heaped praise on Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell

At one point, RCB skipper du Plessis (62 off 33 balls) and Maxwell (76 off 36) had CSK worried with their mighty hitting. They stitched a 126-run stand for the third wicket before CSK bowlers turned the tide towards their side by dismissing the two in-form batters.

Maxwell was the first to fall to Maheesh Theekshana and du Plessis was dismissed by Moeen Ali not long after. Eventually, RCB fell eight runs short of CSK’s total at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

After the match, Dhoni said CSK had decided to keep it simple and get to a par score first, then push on towards a match-winning total rather than aiming too high at the start and ending up with a sub-par total.

“When you come here, you know it's a wicket and there is dew in the early part of the IPL. You want to get extra runs but you want to keep it as a thought you want to start well and then look to alter [to reach] what you have in your mind. I feel the wicket was slightly tacky to start off, the first 2-3 overs the fast bowlers get a bit of help. So you want to go through that and then look to accelerate and maybe look to get a par score, not par plus and end up at 165-170. We kept it simple and tried to get as much as possible.”

He also added that du Plessis and Maxwell were taking the game away from them and could have finished the game with a few overs to spare. The CSK skipper acknowledged that it is difficult handling youngsters at the death and that he looks towards Dwayne Bravo to help youngsters excel in death overs.

“If Faf and Maxi had continued, they'd have won by the 18th over, so you need to get engrossed with the process, know what is the bowling change, what can I do from which end, what is really happening, if something has really changed.

"I can see it better from close by, so I can know if there is deflection off the wicket for the spinners or quicks. I am always involved in what needs to be done. If I can provide bowlers with a good field and give nice suggestions, that's a win for me. Handling youngsters at the death is a difficult challenge because there is a lot of pressure, especially with the dew. They are working very hard. So they need to know the process, know what they're doing. Bravo is a specialist, under him bowlers will gain confidence, he will give them alternate plans. I feel overall it is a team game, and the coaches guide us to what is our strength. We keep on saying, 'whatever your strength is, keep working at that.' What you need to say is you get hit on a good plan than start bowling on a bad plan. The differentiation needs to be there."

CSK have now won three of their five games so far and sit third on the points table.