"The Greatest Captain you will ever see" - Fans hail MS Dhoni after his astute captaincy helps CSK edge RCB in a high-scoring thriller
The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) held their nerves and managed to successfully defend their target of 227 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday, April 17. CSK achieved a rare feat as chasing sides are heavily favorited to win matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
RCB looked in cruise control of the match when Glenn Maxwell (76) and Faf du Plessis (62) were going all guns blazing. The duo put on 126 runs for the third wicket, resurrecting RCB's innings after they had slumped to 15/2.
CSK were clearly on the back foot as RCB still had enough firepower in the dugout to follow. But like in most cases, MS Dhoni deployed spinners to script his side's comeback.
Maheesh Theekshana and Moeen Ali dismissed Maxwell and Du Plessis resepectively in consecutive overs to open the floodgates. Interestingly, Dhoni took both their catches.
MS Dhoni maneuvered his side astutely from there, and Chennai went on to win the match narrowly by eight runs. Fans lauded MS Dhoni's leadership abilities as he took his side over the line with a young and inexperienced bowling attack.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
Just a reaminder that there never will be a Captain better than MS Dhoni. https://t.co/QcIkZCDmzu
MS Dhoni's talk and his walk and the way replies and answering all the questions in post match interviews is just absolutely amazing to hear, he makes everything so simple. He's Genius.
Captain, Leader, Legend, GOAT, Dhoni. https://t.co/UiTayZD6E1
#MSDhoni𓃵 #CSKVSRCB #RCBvsCSK
Just a reaminder that there never will be a Captain better than MS Dhoni. he knows every Batsmen weakness https://t.co/pdPFbQ871M
Winning games with deshpande, Akash Singh, Hangargekar, Pathirana as main bowlers
MS Dhoni - The Greatest Captain you will ever see. https://t.co/raFbUQ4BdI
@msdhoni
MS Dhoni is the greatest captain this world has ever seen 🐐 @msdhoni https://t.co/EJsw4TfCs0
You can't see this kind a calmness in this kind of pressure situation
Captain Cool 🔥
#MSDhoni𓃵 https://t.co/6dXWUZJwOG
You can't lose a thriller game if your captain is MSD.
#IPL2023 #MSDhoni𓃵 https://t.co/j7WQxLNNVH
Thala dhoni sending every player ahead of him to bat https://t.co/u2IRChCeNm
What on earth was that Thala Dhoni? He has still got everything in his arsenal. Still the best man on the pitch whenever he wants to be. #RCBvsCSK #IPL2023 https://t.co/NoelujOfDa
Thala to all the fielders in the dressing room: https://t.co/gctnPYtRWw
WE WANT DHONI 🔥
#IPL2024 #RCBvCSK #MSDhoni https://t.co/a6UmnCvepD
Bro sold his bike just to see a run of Thala https://t.co/SDdu09vJkw
THALA defended an impossible chase.. after such flying start followed by solid middle overs, bowling spin continuously without getting frustrated when bowlers get hit or dropped catch in front of huge crowd is not joke. Typical day, Skipper 🛐.
Thala on one leg taking the catch because he knows the state of this team's fielding 😭😭😭 https://t.co/IcDLELjWBY
"If Faf and Maxi would have continued they would have won the game by the 18th over" - MS Dhoni
Speaking at the post-match presentation, MS Dhoni claimed that the match would have been over by the 18th over had Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell continued their partnership for a bit longer.
Dhoni also stated that he kept assessing the conditions from behind the wicket, which assisted him in making the bowling changes during the chase.
"Whenever you score 210, 220 runs the batters have to keep on hitting. If Faf and Maxi would have continued they would have won the game by the 18th over," he said. "You need to get engrossed into the process, what is the bowling change, what can I do from which end. From behind (the stumps) I keep assessing and it makes it easy for me since I can see if there's any deflection off the wicket for the fast-bowlers or spinners."
On the performances of young bowlers in the death overs of the chase, Dhoni added:
"It is a difficult one because there is a lot of pressure on the youngsters. Also this time when there is a lot of dew and it's not easy to execute the yorkers. But they're working very hard. And we look at the process - what are you doing to make yourself successful? Bravo being here, he's one of the specialists and working under him, the bowlers will get a plan on what to bowl. It is a team game and the bowling coach and the seniors guide them."
CSK will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 21 in Chennai.