IPL 2019: Dhoni reveals why he refused to take singles in the 19th over against RCB

What's the story?

MS Dhoni refused to take three singles in the 19th over while chasing 162 runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Chennai Super Kings (CSK) needed 36 runs in last two overs.

In Case you don't know...

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the Chennai Super Kings by 1 run in close encounter last night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

CSK fell 2 runs short of the target despite MS Dhoni's heroics. He scored 84 runs off 48 balls at a strike rate of 175, with help of 7 sixes and 5 fours. He refused to take three singles in the 19th over bowled by young speedster Navdeep Saini. The batsman at other end was Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.

The heart of the matter

Dhoni told Ian Bishop in his post-match interview,

"I think it was still difficult at the death. If you bowl that back of a length it was slightly spongy, it was not really coming on to the bat, which meant the new batsman who would have come, he would have also found it slightly difficult."

Many experts believe that MS Dhoni should have taken those singles as Dwayne Bravo is capable of hitting the big shots as well

MS Dhoni further told,

"Since I have played so many deliveries, I can afford to take that risk, because a lot of runs were needed. I think 10 or 12 deliveries, we needed some close to 40 runs or 36 runs or something like that, which meant a lot of boundaries were needed."

"So yes, right now you can calculate, two runs over there, one run over there, and we are through, because we lost by one run, but at the same time what you have to see is what if there were a few dot balls, whether we could have got those extra boundaries or not."

The head coach of CSK, Stephen Fleming, backed MS Dhoni for refusing those singles.

What's next?

CSK's batting unit has failed miserably in this IPL. Only MS Dhoni has been consistent performer for them. They are almost certain to qualify for Playoffs, and will need their batting unit to step up in the important matches to defend their status as IPL champions.

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