Sharjah: MS Dhoni praised his Chennai Super Kings teammates and staff for becoming the first team to reach the IPL 2021 play-offs after lows of last season when they finished bottom half of the table.
CSK are now first on the points table with 18 points in 11 games after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets.
"It means a lot because the last time in the post-match presentation I had, I said we want to come back strong... You keep learning out of it, and that is what we have done this year even though we played the first half (of the season) earlier. Every credit must be given to the players and the support staff," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Playing on a surface where picking wickets for bowlers and spending time in the middle for batters were important, the three-time champions ticked all the right boxes to beat SRH with Josh Hazelwood being the chief architect of the win with a three wicket-haul. Dwayne Bravo (2/17), Ruturaj Gaikwad (45 runs off 38 balls) Faf du Plessis (41 off 36) made telling contribution as well.
Dhoni, who shot the winning six in the match, felt the wicket was slow but had consistent bounce, making essential for bowlers to vary their pace and length well.
"It wasn't a wicket where it was turning or stopping a lot. But there was good bounce. Bowlers varied their pace and length very well... That is what I told them before the start of the game as well. The execution was there, " he said. (UNI)
