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Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni cited a mid-over lull as the reason for his team’s three-time loss to the Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in Chennai on Wednesday. Dhoni, who scored 32 out of 17, failed to score the last six but felt the match was decided between 7th and 15th, in which Devon Conway (50 of 38 balls), Shivam Dube (8 of 9 balls) and Moin Ali (7 out of 10 goals) could not cope with Ravichandran Ashwin (2/25) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/27).
“There were not very many spinners, but in the middle of the period there were too many point balls. If (the ball) stops and lifts off the surface, that is normal. But it wasn’t here,” Dhoni said at the presentation ceremony after the match.
“We (him and Ravindra Jadeha) were the last battering pair at the start of the tournament, you can’t go too far with NRR in mind as there were too many overs ahead. We lingered a little in the middle of the overs. We could take more singles. And we could not immediately start working,” said the former captain of the Indian national team.
After hitting three big sixes, Dhoni said he was waiting for the bowler to make mistakes.
“I don’t like too many things. I’m just waiting for the bowlers to make a few mistakes. The bowler was a bit under pressure in the last over. He was also frustrated that his batters couldn’t capitalize on the dew factor.
“We saw the amount of dew and after the first few overs it was relatively easy. We should have worked better with the bat.
“Overall the bowlers did well. [On 200 games as captain] I’m not good at milestones. What difference does it make, 199 or 200. Playing 200 games is a compliment. Thanks to the Almighty. But like I said, nothing special,” he said.
Winning skipper Sangju Samson praised his team’s bowlers for staying calm even as the match got tense towards the end.
“The bowlers kept their cool at the end and pitched very well, we also held on to the catch. I don’t have very good memories of Chepauk, I never won here and wanted to win today.
Of Dhoni’s fast shooting, Samson said: “The last two overs were tight, I was trying to go deeper, but with this guy (Dhoni) you will never be safe. You have to respect this guy and what he can do. Nothing works against him.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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