Mahendra Singh Dhoni of Chennai Super Kings arrives to bat during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals at MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 10, 2023 in Chennai. photo credit: AFP
MS Dhoni “found his best again” in 27 win over delhi capitals Taking another step towards consolidating Chennai Super Kings’ playoff berth in the 2023 IPL, former South African captain Graeme Smith said at the Chepauk Stadium here. CSK’s balanced batting saw them post 167 runs with six players scoring 20 or more runs, which included a blistering 20 from MS Dhoni (9b, 1×4, 2×6) on Wednesday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja joined Dhoni in the 20-run club, with Dube’s 25 being the highest (12b, 3×6). Delhi got off to a poor start, losing their top-3 for just 25 runs. Reilly Rossouw scored 35 (37b, 2×4, 1×6) but could not run fast enough to reach the target.
Dhoni got a rousing reception from the home fans of CSK on the Chepauk pitch where he scored 20 runs in just 9 balls. Former South African captain Graeme Smith recognized the incredible pressure under which Dhoni plays and said on JioCinema, “The pressure is immense every time he goes out to bat. Every time he goes on strike, And the crowd goes crazy. It’s unbelievable. To see, this season, he again found his best. Khaleel was bowling really well till that over against MS, read the play and put him under pressure . Once he hit the ground, you could see Khaleel, he didn’t think he would keep it up. It put him under pressure. 20 off 9, strike rate over 220, just he and Jadeja paced that innings, which put pressure on the total of 160.”
The win allows Chennai to improve on their win count on the season, trailing defending champions and current table-toppers Gujarat Titans by just one point. Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel on JioCinema on what could be CSK’s target to consolidate their qualification, “We had discussed that today’s win would almost guarantee qualification for the playoffs and they would be looking to eliminate one or two Can focus on trying. Finish one or two. Two will ensure they play a match in Chennai, so we can see Chennai play in the final once again. We know how they have played here . Look at their batting tonight, Shivam Dube led all scorers with 25 while others scored around 20. Up to 22 and we still saw a total of 167. The way he fielded, bowled, everything It was going well. So the team can aim for first or second place.
Delhi Capitals sit last on the IPL table with just four wins from 11 matches, basically ending their chances of qualification. While it’s still possible, Graeme Smith believes their season is all but wrapped up, “I think they’re gone. As a team, they had a bit of momentum, they had a chance Needed to keep winning to get there. I think there are a lot of other teams that have a chance to get to 16 points, so I think Delhi are in big trouble in this tournament, what has been a very disappointing campaign for them ”