"It's incredible to watch, this season, he has found his best again" - Graeme Smith on MS Dhoni's IPL 2023 campaignÂ
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith heaped praise on MS Dhoni's impact with the bat for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). The veteran keeper-batter is still going strong for his franchise and has made valuable contributions down the order so far.
Dhoni has scored 96 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 204.26 this season. He recently played a valuable cameo of 20 runs off just nine deliveries in CSK's 27-run win over the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Chennai.
Opining that Dhoni has found his mojo after a couple of bleak IPL campaigns with the bat, Smith said on Jio Cinema:
"The pressure on him every time he goes to bat is enormous. The roars every time he gets on strike, and the crowd goes berserk. It's incredible to watch, this season, he has found his best again. Khaleel was bowling really well until that over against MS, he kind of read the play and had him under pressure."
Adding that Dhoni's cameo helped CSK touch the 160-run mark which proved to be more than enough on a dry surface against DC, Smith said:
"Once he hit that one down the ground, you could just see Khaleel, he didn't think he'd get it going. That put him under pressure. 20 off 9, strike rate of over 220, just the impetus he and Jadeja gave that inning, that 160 total created pressure."
CSK are on course to make it to the playoffs after having tallied 15 points in 12 matches so far. The four-time champions will play their last home game of the season when they host the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, May 14.
"Delhi is in big trouble in this tournament in what has been a very disappointing campaign for them" - Graeme Smith
DC were languishing across all three departments in Chennai and their seventh successive defeat against CSK at Chepauk has more or less sealed their fate in the 2023 IPL as well.
The David Warner-led side are dead-last in the standings with eight points from 11 matches and are more or less eliminated from playoffs contention.
Stating that the IPL 2023 has been a disappointing campaign for DC, Graeme Smith said:
"I think that they are gone. As a team, they had a little bit of momentum, they needed to keep winning to have a chance. I just think there are too many other teams that have the opportunity to get to 16 points, so I think Delhi is in big trouble in this tournament in what has been a very disappointing campaign for them."
DC are next scheduled to face the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in back-to-back matches before concluding their campaign with a home fixture against CSK.
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