"Could Have Done Better...", MS Dhoni Unimpressed With CSK's Batting

image-lfwwsrwgMS Dhoni batting for CSK vs GT (Source: AP Newsroom)

After putting up 178 on the board, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost out to Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final over as the home side chased the game with five wickets in hand. It was the first match of this season with former Indian skipper MS Dhoni returning to the professional setup after a gap of almost one year.

The stadium was full of energetic fans from both sides to witness the greats taking on each other. However, MS Dhoni's CSK could not put on a huge total on the board after a decent start as Ruturaj Gaikwad's 92 could not receive much support from the other end.

Something similar was echoed by skipper Dhoni who mentioned the side's inability to score as many runs as they would have liked. Further, he stressed on the fact that they were a few runs short as they were unable to bat with much intent earlier and towards the end of the innings.

The problem arose for CSK when they lost a few quick wickets in the middle and as a result, failed to continue the momentum set by opener Ruturaj. Dhoni remarked that they could have done better.

"Well, I think we were slightly short with the total. Not that we batted badly. Just that we needed some extra runs since there was some dew during the chase. I thought we could have just batted a bit more positively earlier. We could have added some good batsmanship during our innings. We just tried to muscle every ball in the latter stages of the innings. Could have done a bit better,"

Talking about Ruturaj, skipper MS was quite pleased with his effort as he called him classy and delightful.

"I mean Ruturaj is a classy batter. The way he batted was delightful to watch. He times the ball really well. He knows when to accelerate and takes the right decisions,"

Finally, moving towards debutant Rajyavardhan Hangargekar, the wicket-keeper batter lauded the youngster to bowl decently bagging three wickets while giving away 36 runs. 

Moreover, the 41-year-old backed his decision of going with two left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner.

"Hangargekar is an upcoming bowler. He bowled well. He has pace with him. We can't afford to bowl any no-balls. We should control what we can. I felt that two left-arm spinners were better options and hence went with them. Yes, Shivam Dube was an option, but I felt comfortable with other bowlers."

Yellow army CSK would next be taking the field against Lucknow Super Giants on 3rd April in Chennai with the hope to get their first points of the season.