IPL 2020: CSK skipper MS Dhoni explains why he was struggling in the middle during the last two overs

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 164/5 in the first innings of the IPL 2020 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

After 16 overs, the David Warner-led SRH were 111/4 and it looked like they could not cross 150. But, Sam Curran conceded 22 runs in the 17th over which included a no-ball for height. In the 19th over, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur dropped catches of Abhishek Sharma in two consecutive deliveries as he and Priyam Garg added a game-changing partnership. The 77-run stand between the two yielded 53 runs in the last four overs and SRH had a total to defend against MS Dhoni & Co.

CSK tried but once again could not cross the finish line as they managed to only score 157/5 in their quota of 20 overs. The onus of the result was again put on captain Dhoni, who was carrying his team’s hope along with Jadeja.

However, Dhoni could not manage to take his side home as it looked like that he went after the bowlers too late. He stayed unbeaten on 47 runs off 36 balls as CSK lost the match by seven runs.

It is quite dry out in Dubai, reveals Dhoni

Dhoni is one of the fittest cricketers in world cricket despite being 39-years-old but on Friday he was also seen struggling in the searing heat of Dubai. He talked about the humid conditions after the match, saying that his throat had got dry so he started to cough.

“I tried to get as much as time as possible. It is quite dry out here. So, the throat gets dry and you start to cough. When you have legal signs, you can take some time off.”

His side falling short yet again despite having him at the crease. Dhoni said he was trying to hit the ball too hard when timing it was a better option.

“I was not able to middle a lot of deliveries. Was trying to hit it too hard. When the wicket is slightly at the slower side, it is better to time it. Looking at outfield it was subconsciously coming to us to hit the ball hard,” Dhoni said after his side’s third successive defeat in four matches.

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