A bit more partnerships, a bit more runs, a bit more application, and we’ll be on track: MS Dhoni

After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 11, MS Dhoni made a disappointed appearance. The renowned wicketkeeper-batter lamented the CSK hitters’ lack of effort as they were held to their lowest score at Chepauk, 103/9. This came after Ajinkya Rahane chose to field first on a ground that offered the bowlers some assistance after winning the toss.

It only took the Knight Riders 10.1 overs to win. While Rahane (20*) and Rinku Singh (15*) led them home, they lost the wickets of Quinton de Kock (23) and Sunil Narine (44). For the first time, CSK suffered five straight losses in a season.

“I believe that quite a number of our nights haven’t gone well. The key is to look deep within yourself. The challenge, in my opinion, existed. However, you should take that challenge, plan out how you’ll handle the challenging deliveries, and then try to score runs. Dhoni, who took the lead for CSK for the first time since the IPL 2023 final, told the broadcaster following the defeat, “I felt we didn’t really have enough runs on the board today.”

Additionally, from the very first innings, the 43-year-old observed that the balls were stopping on the batters. But with top-tier spinners in the KKR lineup, he claimed that CSK’s cause was not aided by losing wickets in succession. According to Dhoni, his team will get back on track with more collaborations and improved software.

It [did] halt, yes, but that’s been the situation here. It slowed down a little whenever we bowled first, even in the second innings. However, it stopped today as well in the first inning. Additionally, losing a lot of wickets changes the appearance of the game since it puts pressure on the batter entering,

which makes it a little more challenging when there are good spinners. Furthermore, no partnerships of any type ever truly took off. It’s difficult because of that, too. Overall, Dhoni felt that we would be on track if there were a few more partnerships, runs, and applications.

MS Dhoni, our openers must support themselves.

In their opening six overs, CSK scored just 31 runs and claimed two wickets. Dhoni asserted that both Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, the openers, are competent enough and should just support themselves to score runs in their own fashion without thinking about the score on the board. Keeping wickets intact up front and moving quickly through the middle overs to create a platform for an attack at the end, according to the CSK captain, are the team’s strong points.

“Our openers are good openers; all they need to do is support themselves and make genuine cricket strokes. That’s what matters. It’s not they who will start working hard or try to cross the line. The scoreboard should not, however, make you feel frantic. You need to maintain your run rate while perhaps establishing one or two boundaries.

We’ll have a tough time if you start asking for 60 runs in six overs with our lineup. Establishing alliances is crucial. You could want to try to profit in the middle and later overs. Our strength will lie in that. However, if we lose too many wickets, the middle order will perform differently and the slog would be delayed for a long time,” Dhoni said.