CSK captain MS Dhoni made a rare error in judgment at the toss against GT in the IPL 2022 match on Sunday.
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MS Dhoni is an enigma that cannot be ignored. He not only inspires youngsters through his presence on the pitch but even the greatest of the games like Virat Kohli seek advice from him. His reading of the game makes him one of the finest in the business and he remains the only Indian captain to win all the major trophies — World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions — under his reign. He has also been pivotal to turn Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as one of the most dominating side in the IPL history with four trophies under their belt and track record of qualifying for the IPL playoffs consistently.
READ MORE: MS Dhoni earmarks Matheesha Pathirana as lethal weapon for Chennai Super Kings
However, the IPL 2022 turned out to be different for CSK as the new-look side accumulated at the IPL mega auctions were knocked out of the tournament with two matches in hand. After the return of MS Dhoni in the captaincy role, CSK looked like a rejuvenated unit. The four-time champions saw a captaincy transition from Dhoni to Ravindra Jadeja for the first eight matches before the decision was reversed. The new-look franchise managed to clinch victories in only three wins from 10 matches. And even though CSK have only pride to play for in their remaining match, Dhoni continues to look at his future options for the side and groom the youngsters.
CSK lost their penultimate match in the IPL 2022 by seven wickets to league leaders GT at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat with opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (53) laying a strong foundation for the team at top of the order and Moeen Ali (21), N Jagadeesan (39 not out) chipping with important cameos against a formidable bowling line-up of GT to take their side to a moderate 133/5. The four-time champions failed to restrict the opponents as Wriddhiman Saha (67 not out) scored a brilliant half-century to take GT home with five balls to spare.
Dhoni admitted that opting to bat due to the scorching heat in Mumbai during the afternoon match was not the right decision. “To start off, batting first wasn’t a really good idea. The fast bowlers their ball wasn’t coming on. That’s why the batsmen found it tough to hit. The second half it got slightly better. Spinners I felt both halves it was pretty even. Bit more runs in the middle overs would have been good. Sai bowled really well.
“We could have pushed Shivam up the order but that defeats the purpose of giving Jaggi the extra game. We wanted Jaggi to spend some time in the middle. I think Pathirana is an excellent death bowler. A bit similar to Malinga. With his action, the margin of error for him is quite big. With a slingy action, he doesn’t get a lot of bounce. He has got that slower one as well. We will try to give guys ample time in the middle. I feel it’s important to give guys who haven’t got a chance to feature in the 11,” the former India captain said at the post-match interview.
