CSK’s MS Dhoni says his ‘innings was crucial’; praises DC’s bowling attack after reaching final of IPL 2021

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that his “innings was crucial” after he finished in style with a classy boundary to take Chennai Super Kings (CSK) into the final of Indian Premier League 2021 after defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 1 on Sunday (October 10). 

This will be CSK’s record ninth final appearance in IPL, thanks to the all-around performance by the Chennai team that proved its mettle while chasing 173 to win. The three-time champions needed 13 off the last over from Tom Curran and Dhoni smacked three boundaries to seal the win with two balls to spare. 

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During the post-match presentation, Dhoni said, “I’ve not done a lot in the tournament, so wanted to look for the ball and see what the bowler can do. I was batting well in the nets. But wasn’t thinking too much, if you think too much while batting then you mess your plans up,” Dhoni said at the end of the match.”

“My innings was a crucial one. Delhi has a very good bowling attack. They exploited the conditions well, so we knew it would be tough. My plan was simple, see the ball, hit the ball,” he added. 

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Dhoni said that he keeps his chats with the team’s premier batter Ruturaj Gaikwad simple. “Whenever Ruturaj and I have a chat, it’s a simple chat. Want to know what he was thinking. It’s good to see how well he has improved. He is someone willing to bat 20 overs,” he said.

On promoting Shardul Thakur to No 4, Dhoni said that he wanted to check out if he can get a couple of boundaries that can make a difference when the gap between runs required and balls left is 15 to 20.

“Shardul has done decent batting, as has Deepak. He/they are allowed to go for the shots from first ball unlike other top-order batters,” said Dhoni. 

It was the situation that prompted him to send Robin Uthappa at No. 3 instead of Moeen Ali. “Robin enjoys batting at the top but Moeen has been excellent at No. 3. But we have created a situation where either of them could bat at No. 3 depending on the situation and the opposition.”

Dhoni feels the kind of practice they got the last season after being knocked out of play-offs helped this season as it was evident with Ruturaj scoring 600-plus runs with one more match to go.

“Last season was the first time we didn’t qualify into play-offs. But we wanted to just make use of the 3-4 games left last season and a lot of our batters made use of that. That is the reason why we have come back strongly this season.”