Skipper MS Dhoni said qualifying for the playoffs of IPL 2021 “meant a lot” after the Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah on Thursday.
“It means a lot, because the last time (IPL 2020) in the post-match presentation, I had said we wanted to come back strong and we are known for that. There was a lot at stake, emotions more than anything else,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.
“You keep learning. You won’t always win games. I felt a lot didn’t go our way last time, and it’s important not to make excuses and we have done that this year.”
Dhoni lauded his players and support staff for maintaining momentum through the season.
“We played the first half (of the season) earlier, and the boys did well to keep the momentum going. They’ve taken responsibilities to keep all departments of the game in balance so the players and the support staff get the credit.”
Hyderabad scored 134 for 7, and Super Kings chased it down with two balls to spare. Talking about the pitch, Dhoni said:
“The bounce of the wicket was different. It wasn’t a wicket where it stopped or spun a lot. The bounce was tricky, instead of knee height, it was shin height, and once the batsmen figured out that they have to hit straight, they succeeded. The bowlers tried to swing it up front and got hit straight when they pitched it up too much, but then adjusted very well.
“I told the bowlers that they needed to exploit the conditions in today’s game. If the odd ball stopped early on, it started coming onto the bat later. The bowlers executed well. THe bounce did not change at all.”
The captain said the team was proud of the fans.
“The fans have been great from the start. I can proudly say on behalf of CSK that we are really proud of the fans.”
Comments are closed.