Finally, after a series of agonising losses and frustration ended for the fans and the team management of the Chennai Super Kings after they won comprehensively against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on a slow, low wicket that suited their style of playing and team combination.
The slowness of the pitch also found a place in the losing captain Virat Kohli’s analysis of the game in the post-match interaction. Kohli also lamented the lack of adaptability shown by the RCB bowlers in not trying different tactics such as cutters or change of pace in order to check CSK batsmen from scoring boundaries. On the other hand, he was all praise for the CSK bowlers and said that they were not provided with the luxury of balls that were in their arc for drives or big shots.
"What you saw in the second innings wasn't a true reflection of how difficult the pitch was. We didn't hit the areas. Too many boundary balls. They bowled really well. We hardly got any drive balls from them. We were looking for 150, but we were happy with 145. Our extra pace might be a factor but that can't be an excuse. We just didn't bowl enough slower balls. No change of pace, no bouncers. We saw how difficult it was to get under those slower balls," Kohli said in the post-match interaction.
The moment that was so awaited for the CSK team and MS Dhoni arrived in the game against the RCB and Dhoni, too, acknowledged the moment of triumph in which his team was perfect in all the departments with all the tactics. MS Dhoni credited the spinners for making good use of the slow pitch where they kept on picking wickets at regular intervals and stopped the RCB’s march below the par score.
"I felt this one was one of the perfect games. Everything went to plan, and the execution was there. We kept picking wickets and kept them to a total that was slightly below par. The wicket was on a slower side, and the spinners did a good job,” MS Dhoni said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Dhoni also praised Ruturaj Gaikwad for providing just the kind of start the team desperately needed in the tournament. He said: “We haven't been very consistent with the batting. Today the start was very good. Rutu batted well. He backed himself to play the shots he is known for. Looking to time the ball, if you look for four, you can get six.”
Talking about the mood in the camp, Dhoni said that players end up amplifying emotions when they face turbulent times and he warned that too much thinking of the problems can leave the players in a very bad mood for the remaining 12 hours that the team has to be on the field in the season.
It does hurt when you don't do well so you try to amplify certain emotions. So that the guys just don't drop the game. That can leave with 12 painful hours of the remaining time in the tournament.
As always has been the case for MS Dhoni, the captain, he said that enjoying the game is an essential part of playing it irrespective of the state of the team. He showed happiness that the team is responding bravely to these tough situations otherwise the remaining time in the tournament will become cruel and painful.
Former Indian opener turned commentator and analyst Aakash Chopra reminded Twitter of Rutraj Gaikwad’s sparks after he took on the RCB bowling in the powerplay and remained not out till the end and took the team past the finishing line.
Harsha Bhogle opined that the loss against the CSK will make the RCB a hungrier team and that it is better to have these kinds of games away before the playoff begins.
Cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar blamed Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, the linchpins of the RCB batting line up for the loss against the CSK and said that the duo had miscalculated the par score that was needed against MS Dhoni’s team.
He also pointed to two distinctive performances from either team in Devdutt Padikkal’s range of shots and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s ability to rotate strike by finding the gaps regularly.
The win for CSK had kept the hopes alive for the MS Dhoni’s team but a win for the Rajasthan Royals against the Mumbai Indians that follows the match between the RCB and CSK will certainly rule them out of the contention for a spot in the top four positions on the points table.
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