Brian Lara said that he is perplexed to see CSK skipper MS Dhoni failing to finish games for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as he called for some changes in their batting unit that would allow them to make use of finishers like all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja judiciously. At one stage, CSK were cruising at 99 for one in 12 overs but then were reduced to 157 for five in the run-chase of 168 against KKR in Abu Dhabi.
MS Dhoni struggled to find his lost touch after coming in at No. 4 for CSK. Batting great West Indian Brian Lara said MS Dhoni’s inability to finish matches for Chennai Super Kings at Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is puzzling as he called for improvisation for the rest of the T20 season.
MS Dhoni can be flexible with himself:
Chennai Super Kings slipped to their fourth loss of the season when they failed to chase 168 despite being placed at a reasonably good score of 90 for one at the half-way stage. CSK had opener Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu scoring at will but the wicket of Rayudu bring in fortunes for Kolkata-based franchise.
MS Dhoni, who had been criticized for not batting higher up the order earlier in the season, finally promoted himself at No. 4. He walked in when CSK needed 68 runs from 47 balls but the CSK skipper was a shadow of his former self, struggling to get the much-needed boundaries.
Between the 11th and the 15th over, CSK managed to score just 20 runs during which they also lost the opener, Shane Watson, for 50. MS Dhoni took as many as 12 balls to score 11 runs and made a blunder by sending out-of-form Kedar Jadhav ahead of the likes of all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja.
Kedar Jadhav too took 12 balls to score only 7 runs in an uninspiring batting effort after blocking his first 3 balls even as the asking rate was shooting up. Sam Curran also scored 17 off 11 balls and Kedar Jadhav was unbeaten with Ravindra Jadeja.
CSK needed 26 runs in the final over and Ravindra Jadeja’s fireworks proved too late. Birthday boy West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was watching his team implode from the dugout as one of the finest finishers in the shortest format didn’t get an opportunity to bat. CSK made just 47 runs in their last 30 balls despite losing only two wickets.
“It’s a bit puzzling (Dhoni inability to finish). You feel that he has created that position where he can be flexible with himself but I think he needs to maybe look at some other players,” Brian Lara told Star Sports during a post-match analysis show.
“They have played a couple of games where Dwayne Bravo, an all-rounder, hasn’t had an opportunity to bat. Scoring 58 runs in 10 overs but only losing 4 wickets, something is wrong.”
“He is a great finisher, no doubt about that. But things are not going right for him and I believe, some of the other players, look at Jadeja how he batted today, he came in when their chances were very slim. So, something he will have to work on, have a steadier stuff.”
“They were cruising after 10 overs. You got 90-odd on board. It was unbelievable,” Lara said.
Ravindra Jadeja scored 21 runs in 8 balls but KKR won by 10 runs after KKR batsman Rahul Tripathi top-scored with 81 off only 51 balls. The Windies veteran was shocked for not seeing Dwayne Bravo bat as he is a great finisher. Brian Lara also criticized batting order of CSK as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja walked out when CSK’s chances were slim.
MS Dhoni Acknowledges That CSK Need To Adapt Better With Bat
CSK are now at the 5th spot on the points table, having won only 2 matches out of their first 6 games. They might have to win at least 5 of their next 8 games to remain in contention for the play-offs spot.
Meanwhile, captain MS Dhoni conceded that they had difficulty to find ways to keep the scoreboard moving when KKR bowlers were putting the brakes on in the final overs, blaming the middle-order’s effort for their defeat.
“Rotation of strike was important, but I think there were hardly any boundaries in the final few overs, so we need to be innovative at the end when they are continuously hitting a back of a length. That’s where we need to adapt better with the bat and I don’t think we did that,” MS Dhoni said.
CSK won the opening match against Mumbai Indians and match against Kings XI Punjab but lost to Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, SunRisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.