Need to allow some players to leave for other IPL franchises, says RPS captain MS Dhoni
Rising Pune Supergiants succumbed to a last-over defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, thus effectively ending their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. Even if they manage to win their remaining three matches this season, they shall only get to 12 points, the number of points currently held by 3rd placed KKR, who have a game in hand.
RPS captain MS Dhoni was reflective at the post-match presentation ceremony, even as the star of the day Adam Zampa revealed a mid-pitch chat with the captain that had led to a wicket.
Dhoni said, “Close games are tough to digest but you also have to look at what went right. We won 3 games comfortably and other games went down to the wire. Something is not right for us. The new ball bowling was good and we did well to restrict them. If you compare the bowling attacks, their’s can exploit the condition more.”
He held forth on the limited positives that his Pune outfit have showed in the last few matches, also stressing on the fact that he would like to have a trimmed side next season. He has previously stated that team selection is a worry for him at RPS, because they are yet to find the perfect balance.
“We lost Rahane early and a partnership was important but we kept losing wickets. Zampa was very good. The first few games, we played with the best eleven. Wickets were something that we lacked and he (Zampa) gave us that stability too.
“What’s important is to see the bench strength now. If we can’t field the players, we can let them go to other franchises. It’s to be seen who grabs the opportunity and it will make it easy for us in the next season.”
It is likely that some of the players who will be played in the next three games for the team will be released before next season.
Dhoni did not tell me I had to bowl the last over: Zampa
Zampa’s figures of 6/19, in only his second ever IPL match, has put his name alongside the best breakthrough players of the season. His return is the second best ever bowling figures in the history of the tournament, only behind Sohail Tanvir’s 6/14.
He was adjudged to be the Man of the Match despite being on the losing side. He narrowly missed out on being the hero with the bat for his team as well, and had it not been for Naman Ojha’s diving catch in the last over, RPS might have registered 2 points and still been alive in the tournament.
Zampa bowled the last over during the SRH innings, conceding 8 runs and taking 3 wickets. He revealed that Dhoni had not told him from before that he would be called upon to bowl the 20th over, but that he himself took on the responsibility. However, Dhoni did offer him one advice, which led to a wicket.
The first ball of the 20th over was a six, after which Dhoni was seen walking up to his bowler and offering him some wise words.
Zampa said, “Dhoni did not really tell me that I had to bowl the last over. Just picked up the ball and threw it on the ground. I wanted to bowl obviously – it was spinning and was pretty tough out there. He just told me that leg side was his (Hooda’s) strength and asked me to fire it wider.”