Coach Stephen Fleming hails Chennai skipper's match-winning 34-ball 70 not out against Virat Kohli's Bangalore
Cehnnai skipper MS Dhoni en route his 34-ball 70 not out against Bangalore in Bangalore on Wednesday. Pics/PTI
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'When MS Dhoni hits the ball, it stays hit' is an old Chennai saying. But that it stayed hit even when it was a low full toss and when the shot was aimed not towards long-on or midwicket but over the point fence means the saying has a lot of basis. Mohammed Siraj didn't quite believe it as didn't some Chennai players.
'We were gobsmacked' "It was a Dhoni special. It is amazing when players experience it in this team for the first time. We've got players here who're absolutely gobsmacked the way in which he finished that game. Having seen it so many times, the expectations get so high. But some of the shots that he played tonight — there was one shot towards point in the end, that's one of the top three shots I've seen," said Chennai coach Stephen Fleming, who just couldn't stop raving about that shot and the fact that it came when the asking rate was nearly four runs per ball. "Dhoni's ability to let wide balls go, the presence of mind to be staying in the now, it never ceases to amaze."
Stephen Fleming
Apart from Dhoni's (70 not out off 34 balls) power-hitting, Fleming was also taken aback by two other knocks, one by Bangalore's AB de Villiers (30-ball 68) and the other by Chennai's Ambati Rayudu (82 off 52 balls). "De Villiers I thought had won the game for Bangalore because it was a turning track. We had spinners ready to go but his onslaught took them out of play. Just as good as Dhoni is at the death, AB through that top and middle was superb. He countered everything that we had today." Rayudu outstanding too Fleming then turned to Rayudu's knock, one that set up the Chennai chase. Fleming said: "Dhoni is going to make a lot of the headlines but the innings from Rayudu was outstanding as well." "He's been the form player for us in all conditions. The power game he's got has gone unnoticed, but we certainly value it," added the former New Zealand captain.
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