Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni heaped praise on his bowlers ahead of his side’s crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday.
The Super Kings knocked defending champions Mumbai Indians out of the tournament with a convincing seven-wicket win in the Eliminator at the Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday. In that match, Dhoni put Mumbai in to bat and saw his bowlers restrict them to 173 for eight from their 20 overs — a target Chennai achieved with seven wickets and eight balls to spare.
Dhoni praised his team’s overall performance in the field on a wicket that was favourable to batting.
“I think the bowlers did a really good job. It was a very good wicket to bat on. Ashish [Nehra] and Ishwar [Pandey] moved the ball around a bit. And, in the middle overs, the spinners bowled well,” Dhoni said.
“180 to 185 was a par score as it was a good track, fast outfield and not too big boundaries. 173 was just a bit under par, but we needed to score the runs.
“It would have been better had the top order carried on. It would have made life easier for [David] Hussey and [Suresh] Raina.”
Chennai pulled off some difficult catches and one of them, by Pandey, was off Corey Anderson — the hero of Mumbai’s last match against Rajasthan Royals. It was a top-edge from Anderson that went high and Pandey had to wait patiently at deep backward square leg before pouching it to dismiss the New Zealander.
Asked about the catches, Dhoni said: “I thought those catches would have been dropped, but Ishwar’s catch was brilliant. We knew Anderson would try and swing and I kept Ashwin for him and it paid off.”
Dhoni said it was the experience of Hussey and Raina, who saw Chennai over the line with an unbeaten 89-run partnsership, that helped them and they were always confident of pulling off the chase.
“We didn’t panic. That’s where experience counts. I felt, with Hussey around — if he gets going he can accelerate — and the firepower with me and Jaddu [Ravindra Jadeja] around, we could chase nine or 10 an over,” he said.
It was a good day for Raina as he was not only adjudged the man of the match for his unbeaten 33-ball 54 but, earlier in the day, he was named captain of the India team that will tour Bangladesh next month.
Raina said: “God has been very kind to me [after being named captain of India for Bangladesh].
“We executed the bowing plan really well. And then the batsmen, all of them did their job. I knew I had to bat till the last over.
“Wicket was really good, ball was coming on nicely. I knew I could hit [Pragyan] Ojha over midwicket and Bhajji [Harbhajan Singh] over cover. Huss was batting well and we were running between the wickets well too.”
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said the score of 173 was a good total but it was just not their day.
“We batted well till the 15th-16th over. 170 was a good enough target. We would have liked some more but we really played well and I have a lot of pride in this side and how long we’ve come in this tournament. This just wasn’t our day.”
Sharma lauded his team for bouncing back after losing the first five games in UAE leg.
“We showed a lot of character after losing the first five games. Coming back to India and performing like that was incredible,” he said.
“I didn’t have to do too much, we were in that momentum after our last win and we wanted to carry it though to this game. But unfortunately CSK were the better team today and that’s what it is. We’ve got some work to do and hopefully we’ll come back bigger and stronger next year.”
