Chennai – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni admitted that his team fell short with the bat and failed to post a competitive total, following a five-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Chepauk in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.
The loss marked CSK’s seventh defeat in nine matches, dropping them to the bottom of the points table. The team managed just 154 runs in 19.5 overs, a total that proved inadequate on a pitch that, according to Dhoni, offered no major surprises.
Speaking after the match, Dhoni didn’t mince words:
“We kept losing wickets, and in the first innings, the wicket was slightly better. A score of 155 is not justifiable because it wasn’t turning a lot. Yes, after the 8-10th over, it became slightly two-paced when it comes to the fast bowlers, but nothing that was out of the ordinary, I feel we could have put a few more runs on the board.”
He acknowledged some late help for the spinners but emphasized that CSK were 15-20 runs short:
“Yes, in the second innings, there was a bit of help. Our spinners’ quality was there, and they bowled in the right areas, and it was stopping a bit, but we were short by 15-20 runs.”
The CSK skipper also took a moment to praise South African debutant Dewald Brevis, whose fearless 42 off 25 balls stood out amid CSK’s otherwise fragile batting:
“We need something like that in the middle order where we have slightly struggled when the spinners come in, that is a time we need to either you do it by batsmanship, where you pick up your areas or try to play the big shot in your area, I feel that is where we have been lacking and not been really able to dominate or get runs against spinners at good pace in the middle.”
Dhoni emphasized that improvement was needed across the board:
“In a tournament like this, if you have one or two areas where you can plug in the holes it is good, but if majority of your players are not doing well, it becomes very difficult. We are not putting enough runs on the board, because it is essential right now, the game has changed. I am not saying it is always 180-200, but assess the conditions and then look to put the runs on the board.”
Match Summary:
SRH elected to bowl first and managed to restrict CSK to 154, with notable contributions from Dewald Brevis (42) and Ayush Mhatre (30). Harshal Patel starred with the ball, returning figures of 4/28, while Jaydev Unadkat chipped in with 2/21.
Also SEE : Harshal Patel, Kishan & Mendis Shine As SRH Defeat CSK By Five Wickets In IPL Thriller
In response, SRH found themselves at 106/5 in the 14th over, but Ishan Kishan’s 44 and a steady 32 from Kamindu Mendis* took them home with eight balls to spare.
Noor Ahmed was CSK’s most effective bowler, finishing with 2/42.
Harshal Patel was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his game-changing spell.
With this win, SRH climbed to eighth place in the standings, collecting six points from nine games, while CSK remain at the bottom with just four points.