Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took everyone by surprise with one particular decision he made during his team's five-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday.
CSK's win meant KXIP were knocked out of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL). During Sunday's match, Dhoni's team were chasing 154 when the legendary captain decided to use some left-field tactics.
Dhoni sent Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar ahead of himself in the batting order, catching Ravichandran Ashwin's KXIP off guard. After the match, MSD explained the reason behind his bold move.
"If you see their bowling line-up, it was definitely swinging a bit more for Ankit. From a captain's perspective, you want to take as many wickets upfront. So sending in Bhajji and Chahar creates chaos," said Dhoni.
"The bowlers all of a sudden bowl yorkers and bouncers. When batsmen are batting, they stick to a good line and length, but against Bhajji and Chahar, they lose their line and lengths, instead of sticking to the plan. Plus Bhajji and Chahar could come in handy during the playoffs."
Meanwhile, KXIP will be utterly disappointed at failing to qualify for the IPL 2018 playoffs. When Punjab batsmen needed to fire in unison, only Karun Nair (54) showed stomach for fight with his 26-ball knock, which was laced with three fours and five sixes. Nair's half-century helped Kings XI Punjab recover from a poor start and post 153 in 19.4 overs but they needed to win by at least 53 runs to qualify for the Play-offs.
It was South African paceman Ngidi who triggered a top-order collapse as he swung the ball both ways to confound the Punjab batsmen. He conceded only 10 runs in his four-over quota and scalped key players. CSK needed to win in 17.3 overs to snatch the top spot but they had to be content with a second-place finish behind Sunrisers Hyderabad as they could overhaul the target only in 19.1 overs.
Deepak Chahar (39 from 20) shared a crucial 56-run stand Suresh Raina (68 not out) in Chennai's win while skipper MS Dhoni, who batted down the order, scored 16 off seven balls and finished the match with a six. With the wicket helping seamers, CSK's chase was far from smooth with Ankit Rajpoot dismissing Faf du Plessis (14) and Sam Billings (0) in successive balls. This was after Mohit Sharma had scalped in-form Ambati Rayudu (1).
Harbhajan Singh (19) was sent up the order with a licence to go after the bowling. He swung his bat wildly but did not connect all the time, though he found a six and two fours. The wicket was tough for aggressive batting and working the ball around was the best option. Raina changed his approach and started rotating the strike even as Harbhajan kept attempting big shots.
His struggle ended when rival captain R Ashwin trapped him. MS Dhoni delayed his arrival at the crease and sent Deepak Chahar ahead of himself. After getting his eye in, Chahar slammed Ashwin for two sixes and a four before launching Axar Patel for a massive six. His innings was ended by Ashwin, bringing Dhoni at the crease.
The two experienced players took the side past the finish line. CSK and SRH will now clash in the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday while Royals and KKR will lock horn in Eliminator on Wednesday.
(Inputs from PTI)
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 "Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action on Sunday")
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