Head coach Stephen Fleming says it was heartening to see MS Dhoni thrive under pressure against DC and take CSK across the finish line and into the final
MS Dhoni during his six-ball 18 not out on Sunday. Pic/BCCI; IPL
Former champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) became the first team to enter the final of IPL-14 on Sunday and it was their skipper MS Dhoni, who played a crucial role in it. Dhoni, who has been struggling with his form, scored a six-ball 18 not out—his individual highest score this season—as CSK beat Delhi Capitals [DC] by four wickets in the Qualifier 1 at Dubai.
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Dhoni, 40, had scored just 114 runs from 11 innings, but after the departure of opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (50-ball 70, 5x4, 2x6) on the first ball of the penultimate over, he decided to promote himself, ahead of the in-form Ravindra Jadeja (who has scored 227 runs in 12 innings) and joined Moeen Ali (16) at No.7 with CSK needing 24 to win off 11 balls. Dhoni hammered one six off pacer Avesh Khan [1-47] and three fours in the last over off pacer Tom Curran (3-29) to secure the win with two balls to spare. Earlier, put in to bat, DC opener Prithvi Shaw (60 in 34 balls, 7x4, 3x6) and captain Rishabh Pant (35-ball 51 not out) helped their team post 172-5 in their 20 overs.
Stephen Fleming
I’ll go in, said MSD
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming explained how Dhoni decided to go in ahead of Jadeja. “I think we probably spoke more in these 20 overs than we have for a long time. There were a lot of technical discussions and just manoeuvring to try and work out how this was going to unfold, and who was going to make the maximum impact. But when the captain has that look in his eyes and says ‘I’ll go,’ it’s been well documented the times that he has done that and today [Sunday] was one of those. So, I ain’t holding him back and we saw the result,” Fleming said at the post-match virtual press conference.
The former New Zealand captain said it was an emotional win for the Chennai side. “It was emotionally great for us. We wish him [Dhoni] well every time he goes out. We know the pressure that he has, the expectation that’s there of him and again he came up on top for us. So, it was emotional in the changing room,” said Fleming.
DC coach Ponting hails MSD
Interestingly, while many would have been surprised to see Dhoni batting ahead of Jadeja, DC’s head coach Ricky Ponting thought otherwise. “He’s [Dhoni] been one of the greats, there’s no doubt about that. There was a situation tonight when we were sitting in the dugout and thinking, would Jadeja come next? Would Dhoni come out next? I put my hand up straightaway and said ‘I’m pretty sure that Dhoni will come out now and try and ice the game’.”
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