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MS Dhoni (Source: Twitter)
Chennai Super Kings were defeated by Rajasthan Royals on Thursday night in the Indian Premier League 2023, dropping MS Dhoni's team to third place in the points table. The host side's disciplined bowling effort prevented CSK from chasing down a 203-run mark at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.
Chasing the massive target, the Super Kings were unable to form strong partnerships and were left needing 79 from 31 deliveries when Moeen Ali got out as the fourth wicket of the innings. Many expected Ravindra Jadeja to join Shivam Dube in the middle, and while he did, the left-handed batter failed to make an impact. Jadeja was unbeaten on 23 off 15 deliveries.
Former Australian speedster Shaun Tait was taken aback by Dhoni not batting in the game and noted that as the needed run rate for the Super Kings continued to rise, he would have preferred Dhoni to take the charge. “Watching MS (Dhoni) sit on the boundaries when they need sixes... I was like, 'can someone get out?'” Tait said following the game on ESPNCricinfo.
Deep Das Gupta, another analyst, mirrored Tait's thoughts, noting that Dhoni's presence creates dread among bowlers. “There's this fear factor when MS is batting. No matter whether he's (on) 40 or 50, no matter how good a bowler you are, you'd still be thinking, 'it's MS who's batting there',” the former Indian cricketer said.
They got par+ score and we were not able to stop the runs: MS Dhoni
Dhoni has batted in four innings in eight matches this season, all of which have come at number eight. He has scored 61 runs and has only been out once. Furthermore, Dhoni's strike rate is an astounding 196.77, which has many questioning why the CSK captain bats in the bottom middle-order.
"It (target) was quite a bit above par. The reason was the first six overs, gave too many runs, but at the same time the pitch was best to bat on at that time. Even when they were finishing the edges kept going for boundaries. They got par+ score and we were not able to stop the runs," Dhoni said after the loss.