IPL: MS Dhoni says RR took the game away from CSK in the powerplay overs
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ms Dhoni said the three-time champions lost their match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as part of a power play behind the scenes of the race itself.
Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 101 off 60 balls helped CSK set a steep target of 190 for RR to chase but the latter shot down the total with nearly three overs to spare.
Dhoni said that conditions became much better for the batsmen during the RR innings. “A bad toss to lose to start off. They batted really well, there was just enough dew and the roll made it pretty flat and the ball started coming on nicely after the first eight odd deliveries. Still, you needed to bat well and they did that. They had an ideal start to chasing 190 where they just took the game away in the first six overs,” said Dhoni after the match.
“250 would have been closer to that the way they were going,” he joked when asked if 190 was a par total. Dhoni also commended Gaikwad for playing according to the conditions that were on offer. Gaikwad smashed 71 runs in the last 30 deliveries that he faced.
“Initially it was stopping but as the innings progressed, especially in the last four-five overs it became better and Ritu capitalised on that. It was a brilliant innings, batted 20 overs and scored a century. Often when you lose these things get brushed away but he batted very well with other batsman. 190 was a very good score for a pitch like that,” he said.
CSK have already qualified for the playoffs but Dhoni said that they will be looking at this match to learn. “You have (to forget). In a tournament every season you go through some games you have to forget. I feel the thing is not just forget but learn because same can happen in the knockouts. That is what we have done well as a unit,” he said.
