IPL 2021: “Sometimes you don’t want to take early wickets” – MS Dhoni

Referring to the counterattack from Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Andre Russell and Pat Cummins on Wednesday night, MS Dhoni stated that at times taking early wickets don’t help.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper believes that big hitters like Russell will play only one way in dire situations, which may make the opposition helpless.

CSK survived a few nervous moments despite posting 220 on the board and reducing KKR to 31 for five inside the powerplay. With Dinesh Karthik (40 off 24), Andre Russell (54 off 22) and Pat Cummins (66* off 34) taking on the CSK attack, Dhoni stated that the contest at the end became fast bowlers vs batsman and the game would have been much closer if KKR had played the full 20 overs.

Having lost half their side at 31, KKR were bowled out with five balls to spare and Pat Cummins stranded at one end.

“Quite easy in a game like this. From the 16th over onwards, the contest was between the fast bowler and the batsman. You can’t do too much. Can’t put a different field. It’s about you vs me. The side that has won is a side that has executed slightly better,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

“You don’t want to take too many early wickets. Big hitters coming in, 200 runs, there’s only one way they’ll play. There's not much you can do. The only option was Jadeja. It was turning, it was a bit dry. If 20 overs had been completed, it would have been more closer.”

For CSK, their batters made the difference, with openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (64 off 42) and Faf du Plessis (95* off 60) adding a 115-run stand. Later, Deepak Chahar dismissed four of KKR's top five batters in the first five overs, which played an important role in CSK’s 18-run victory.

Picture abhi baaki hai 💪#AakhriDumTakAakhriRunTak #KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2021 https://t.co/c4GO344mwY

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 21, 2021

Have seen enough in cricket, always like to be humble: MS Dhoni

Citing his experience, MS Dhoni emphasized the importance of remaining humble in all situations. The former India skipper believes that if one team has put up a good score on the board, there’s no reason why the opposition can't do the same.

“Have seen enough in cricket, I always like to be humble. There’s no good reason if you have scored; the opposition can’t score. My lines to the players were that we have got good runs on the board but let’s be humble,” Dhoni added.

With three wins from four matches, CSK, the three-time IPL champions, have now marched to the top spot in the points table.

An absolute thriller here at The Wankhede as @ChennaiIPL clinch the game by 18 runs.Scorecard - https://t.co/jhuUwnRXgL #VIVOIPL #KKRvCSK pic.twitter.com/vf9MfM4phz

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 21, 2021