Chennai Super Kings fought numerous close battles this season, but the final wasn’t one of them. MS Dhoni’s men thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai to clinch their record third IPL title.
Chasing a daunting target of 179 under lights in the finals, opener Shane Watson went berserk.
The former Australia all-rounder smashed 11 fours and eight humongous sixes to get to an unbeaten 117 off 57 balls.
While Sandeep Sharma went for 52 off his four overs, Siddarth Kaul leaked 43 runs off his three overs. The yellow brigade chased down the total with nine balls to spare.
Roles and plans
Dhoni was certainly a happy man. Afterall he reunited with his favourite franchise and led the men to victory. On the role and responsibilities of each player, the skipper said,
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“By the time you reach the final everybody know their roles. The fielders have to adjust their roles while fielding, but while batting the styles are well known. So if somebody is finding it difficult in the middle, you know the incoming batsmen wouldn’t find it easy as well.”
“You have to keep in mind that Bhuvi is as deceptive as Rashid, so it’s not only one bowler in their side that could’ve put pressure on us. So, I feel it’s a really good batting effort. But we always had the belief that we had the firepower in the middle overs. There was no plan to send Bravo up ahead. Rayudu has been our main batters, so we had protection in the middle.” he added.
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MS Dhoni On the luck-factor
Chennai also equalled Mumbai Indian’s three title triumphs, and each of the time it was Dhoni who marshaled his troops in yellow. He said it is not easy to pick one special win, as all the victories were special.
Quite often, the pundits talk about Dhoni’s ‘luck factor,’ but the man himself said it is all about doing well in the field.
“Every win is special, so difficult to pick anyone win. Lot of people talk about numbers, statistics, so tonight’s 27th, my jersey number is 7, and this was our seventh final.
On the age-factor
While Chennai were mocked for having players above the age of 30 in their dug-out, Dhoni said it is all about the experience they bring in.
“We talked a lot about age, but what’s more important is the fitness. Rayudu, at 33, it doesn’t really matter. That’s what more matters than age. If you ask most captains, they want players who move well on the field. Doesn’t matter if you’re 19-20 years old. We knew our shortcomings, and we were aware of it. If Watson tries to dive, he may injure his hamstring, so we don’t want him to do that. We’ve been aware of these things.
Age is just a number, but you have to be very fit. No plans as of now. We go to Chennai tomorrow. Irrespective of the result, that was the plan. Go to Chennai, meet the fans and those close to the team. But we’ll have a get together in the hotel and enjoy the evening.” he said.
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