IPL 2021: We could have bowled slightly better – MS Dhoni

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni has admitted that his team could have bowled slightly better in their opening clash against Delhi Capitals. DC cruised to the target of 189 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday with seven wickets and eight balls to spare.

DC openers – Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan – catapulted their attack on the opposition as CSK bowlers took a hammering. Shaw and Dhawan scored 65 runs in the powerplay overs as CSK bowlers didn’t have any answers to the onslaught.

Dwayne Bravo was the pick of the CSK bowlers as the veteran all-rounder conceded 28 runs in his four-overs quota. However, apart from Bravo, all the CSK bowlers took a beating from Shaw and Dhawan.

Shardul Thakur, who had shown good form while playing for the national team in the series against England, was the most expensive bowler as he leaked 53 runs in 3.4 overs he bowled. MS Dhoni’s bowlers failed to contain and apply any kind of pressure in the batting paradise of Wankhede Stadium. Furthermore, the short boundaries were not CSK’s bowlers’ friend.

Dhoni believes his batters did a good job in helping the team reach 188 but the bowlers were not up to the mark.

MS Dhoni said in the post-match presentation, “A lot depended on dew, and that factor played on our mind from the start and that’s why we wanted to get as many runs as possible. The batters did a good job to reach 188 because it was tacky until dew settled in 50 minutes later. We could have bowled slightly better, and if batters are hitting you over the fields, that’s fair enough. The execution of the bowlers was poor and there were boundary balls that they bowled, but the bowlers will have learned and they will apply that in future games”.

Meanwhile, CSK has always relied on their spinners to do a job in spin-friendly conditions of Chepauk. However, as no team will get the home advantage in this season of the IPL, it is going to be a challenge for MS Dhoni’s team to deliver the goods at Wankhede.

CSK will aim to bounce back in the coming matches and will want more from their bowlers. The Men in Yellow will play their next match against Punjab Kings at Wankhede, Mumbai on 16th April.