A win was just what the Rising Pune Supergiants needed in Hyderabad, and after the game, they just got that! After reeling around in the lower rung of the table, the Supergiants have finally managed to win a game and remain alive in this ongoing edition of the IPL. By the virtue of the win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, MS Dhoni’s boys now can breathe a sigh of relief after facing a string of losses.
Pune’s chief architect behind the win was comeback man Ashok Dinda, who bowled a fabulous first spell. In his very first over, Dinda dismissed danger man David Warner to set up a collapse for the hosts. Shikhar Dhawan played really well for his 56*, but the Sunrisers could only manage 118-8. Pune seemed to be well on course to chase it down, before the heavens opened up, and the visitors eventually won by 34 runs by D/L method.
In the post-match presentation, MS Dhoni admitted that he was relieved to win. Dhoni also jokingly said it would be good if he was around for 5 more years. “I don’t mind playing for 10 years but another 5 years would be good,” was Dhoni’s witty reply when asked if he would love to play for another 10 years.
Speaking about the game, Dhoni said, “”It’s important to win games. We had only won one out of the first five. You cannot be in the middle of the chart to qualify for the semis. There are quite a few teams on 4 or 6 points and we are within reach. Apart from the first toss, I have won them all. We never thought about the rain as a factor; the reason we bowled first is because the wicket stays good. When you are chasing, you don’t worry about the rain much. Length from the bowlers were good and Ashwin bowled the way he wanted to bowl. When there are a few wickets in the first few overs, the spinners don’t feel the pressure. The batsmen and the fast bowlers did well.”
Dhoni concluded by saying that he was glad as Pune did well in all the departments. “A few average fielders in the side and the ball goes to them mostly. So we have scored those extra 10 runs. This is one game where we did well in all the departments,” said Dhoni.