There aren’t many better than the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni when it comes to game awareness and that was reflected in his first outing with the bat this IPL season, said Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming. The margin of defeat for CSK’s first defeat of the season would have been greater than 20 runs had it not been for Dhoni’s unbeaten 37 off 16 balls at number eight. Dhoni’s cameo against the Delhi Capitals included a thunderous six over extra cover before unleashing a one-handed maximum over mid-wicket in the 20th over.
The 42-year-old, who last played for India in 2019, had undergone knee surgery last year.
“It was beautiful, wasn’t it? He played incredibly well in pre-season. He’s coming back from a pretty serious injury. His batting was excellent. It gave us a positive atmosphere at the end of a tough day.”
“It’s important to get within 20 runs of the target and he knows that. The way he played was spectacular,” the former New Zealand captain said at the post-match press conference on Sunday.
On the first defeat of the season, Fleming added: “Today’s result is a good reflection of the team’s play tonight. We were a little bit off tonight, we were slow at the start in the first six overs of each inning. We gave away too many runs in the first six when we bowled.
“When we batted, they were very good, creating pressure and using the conditions very well. The little cameos from David Warner and Rishabh Pant took them to a very good score (191/5).”
Long awaited performance: Khaleel
Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed’s strike with the new ball put CSK on the back foot from the start.
“I waited a long time to perform for the team. When I started, I realized I was getting a good swing, so I just supported and didn’t give the opponent any chance,” Ahmed said.
“The more you play, the better you understand your game. The same thing happened to me, as I have been playing continuously for six months. I learned to understand my game plans, my body and how to play in small problems.
“It was all because of the domestic season. It gave me a lot of confidence before starting the IPL and it was a great feeling.”
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