'You don't expect MS Dhoni making such mistakes' - Former India batter lashes out at MS Dhoni after Chennai's defeat in Indian T20 League 2023 opener

The Chennai-based franchise was hoping to start their Indian T20 League 2023 campaign with a win, but that didn't happen as they lost their first match of the much-awaited league by 5 wickets against the defending champions Gujarat. Chennai finished in the 9th position in the points table last year. However, this time, as MS Dhoni is reportedly to announce his retirement from the cash-rich league, they will look to win the title for the fifth time.

Talkin about the match, the Gujarat-based franchise opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad played a classy inning to get everyone excited about the 16th edition. However, he fell eight runs short of a hundred, but his efforts helped the Men in Yellow post 178 for the first innings.

Chasing the target, Gujarat had a brilliant start as their openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha made full use of the powerplay. They also got handy contributions from their impact substitute Sai Sudharshan, who came on for an injured Kane Williamson, and Vijay Shankar. While in the end, Gujarat's two bowling allrounders Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan finished the match convincingly.

Tushar often bowls in the latter phases of the game: Virender Sehwag

Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag slammed Dhoni for his poor captaincy. He also mentioned that it was surprising to see him doing these kinds of mistakes during the match. He said that there was no need to go with Tushar Deshpande for the last over as he was very expensive.

"Had Dhoni used an over from Moeen Ali somewhere in the middle, he may not have needed to go to Tushar Deshpande, who was highly expensive. You don't expect MS Dhoni to make such mistakes often, but that's where you could use the risk-and-reward approach of using an off-spinner when right-handers are batting," he said.

"I was surprised when they gave the impact substitute Tushar Deshpande the new ball. In domestic cricket, he often bowls in the latter phases of the game. I thought maybe they could have given Rajvardhan Hangargekar the new ball," he said.