Wanted partnership, knew there would be dew: Dhoni assesses Rajasthan win

Tags: Indian T20 Cricket 2019, Chennai XI vs Rajasthan XI, 12th Match at Chennai, Mar 31, 2019, Chennai XI, Rajasthan XI, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, t20

Published on: Apr 01, 2019

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Superb captain innings of 75 not out from MS Dhoni helped Chennai recover from a disastrous start when they crumbled to 3 for 27 to register their third win in a row

Superb captain innings of 75 not out from MS Dhoni helped Chennai recover from a disastrous start when they crumbled to 3 for 27 to register their third win in a row. Dhoni's special helped Chenna post 175 for 5.

In response, Chennai's bowler kept the pressure upon Rajasthan in the chase and in spite of a Russell-esque 46 from 26 by Ben Stokes, Rajasthan ended short by eight runs on the pitch that was not the easiest to bat on, at Chepauk.

Speaking about his superb innings, Dhoni, who was also the man of the match, explained, "We wanted to get a partnership going, it was needed at the time, we knew there'd be dew."

On Harbhajan Singh missing out, he added, "Bhaji missed the match because there were quite a few right-handers," and went on to say, "Just hoping the batsmen can keep performing and bowlers can improve as the tournament progresses, which tends to happen in Indian T20 Cricket. It was very difficult for the spinners with the dew, but we were able to rotate. As a wrist spinner with the dew, Tahir did really well."

Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane felt that the last five overs with the ball cost them. "Disappointed. We started off well, overall what cost us were the last five overs with the ball. Even batting, with the dew the target was changeable. We need to win smaller moments, and some luck to change the tide."

-- By A Cricket Correspondent

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