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Skipper MS Dhoni believes defeats are part and parcel of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have played very well to make it to the IPL 2021 playoffs.
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CSK’s loss against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dubai on Thursday is their third consecutive defeat in the league. Restricting CSK to 134, PBKS crafted a six-wicket loss with seven overs remaining courtesy of KL Rahul’s 42-ball knock of 98*.
After CSK’s defeat, MS Dhoni said:
“You have to cope up with that (a string of losses) when it comes to mental or skill aspects. We had played very good cricket to reach the playoff stages. We had a few bad games. Two out of the three, to be precise. In one [against Delhi Capitals], we felt like we could have a comeback, and that’s part and parcel in leagues like these, where you have to be at your best."
On a personal note, MS Dhoni’s poor run with the bat continued. The CSK skipper now has just 96 runs from 14 league matches at an average of 13.7, striking at 95.
After dominating the points table for a large part of the tournament, a hat-trick of defeats sees CSK finish behind Delhi Capitals (DC) in the points table. With three more league games to go, CSK are most likely to finish in the second spot.
The players are highly motivated: MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni dismissed the notion that the three defeats have impacted CSK’s motivation leading to the playoffs. He said:
“Motivation is not a factor. The guys are highly motivated and maybe we need to tune up slightly as to what needs to be done and also a few tosses if they had gone our way."
CSK’s defeat keeps them in the second spot. For Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to replace them, they will need to create an IPL record and register one of the biggest wins as their net run rate is in the negative. Therefore, it’s almost certain that the MS Dhoni-led CSK will play table-toppers Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 1 in Dubai on Sunday.
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