Despite three losses on the trot, Chennai Super Kings captain remained unfazed and said that defeats are part and parcel of a tournament of the standard of the Indian Premier League. MS Dhoni maintained that his side have performed very well to reach the playoff stages , having all but sealed a top-two spot as well.
In their final game group stages game, the Super Kings were at the receiving end of a thorough thrashing at the hands of the Punjab side, with KL Rahul crafting a magnificent innings of 98* in just 42 balls. Rahul took his team to a comfortable 7-wicket win with 7 overs to spare, having previously restricted Chennai to 134.
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CSK’s middle-order woes continued, as veteran Faf du Plessis was the lone bright spot in what was otherwise a complete failure with the bat for CSK.
MS Dhoni’s sub-par batting performance continued, this time being dismissed by leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi for 12 off 15 balls. He now has only 96 runs to his name from 14 matches, striking below run a ball and an average of a shade below 14.
After the loss against Punjab, Dhoni remarked:
“You have to cope up with that (a string of losses) when it comes to mental or skill aspects. We had played very good cricket to reach the playoff stages. We had a few bad games.
Two out of the three, to be precise. In one [against Delhi Capitals], we felt like we could have a comeback, and that’s part and parcel in leagues like these, where you have to be at your best.”
After being at the top for the better part of the first leg, 3 defeats in as many games is concerning for the yellow army. But, MS Dhoni shrugged off any fears as he believed that the losses would only motivate his side to do well in the playoff stages. Dhoni said:
“Motivation is not a factor. The guys are highly motivated and maybe we need to tune up slightly as to what needs to be done and also a few tosses if they had gone our way.”
It is most likely that CSK will finish in second place, as only a win of historic proportions can help RCB dislodge the Yellow Army. If that is indeed the case, then CSK will face Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1 in Dubai on October 10.
