Ambati Rayudu reveals MS Dhoni's mindset in the RCB win

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) soared to an epic victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, aided by the mammoth partnership between Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni. Not only did the two smash the opposition bowlers for boundaries and sixes at regular intervals, but also played sensible Cricket to guide their side to victory. In the post-match interview, Rayudu revealed exactly what was going through MSD’s mind when he came in to bat.

Having posted a hefty total of 205 in the first innings, Virat Kohli-led RCB started off the proceedings well with the ball by dismissing Shane Watson and Suresh Raina without allowing them to settle in. At 4 wickets down, CSK were down and out, but Captain ‘Cool’ knew exactly how to bring themselves back into the game. Rayudu and Dhoni’s partnership worth 101 runs not only revived CSK but also led them to a 5-wicket victory in the end.

Dhoni bhai wanted to hit the ball out of the park from the first ball, says Rayudu

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Ambati Rayudu said, “After losing 4 wickets, we were thinking of constructing the innings and the way Dhoni bhai came to the middle and the tempo, from the first ball, he wanted to hit the ball out of the park, I was sure and had the belief that if he would see through about four overs, without losing a wicket, we will have a good chance.”

The 32-year-old was run out for a personal score of 82 runs and reflecting on his knock, he said, “It would have been better if I had stayed with Dhoni bhai and finished it off but I am really happy with the way I’m batting. I still feel it’s too early in the tournament and the business end only after 8 or 9 games. So we need to keep continuing as a batting unit and keep out feet on the ground and do the basics.”

MS Dhoni, who was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for his knock worth 70 runs from just 34 balls, said, “I thought when we had the innings break this was difficult to chase because when I was keeping, I felt AB batted well to get them to 200 runs and it was tough to score. I thought it was 15-20 beyond par score. The key for us was the two left-handers but we lost them early. Just had to hang around there. This is a small ground, the ball travels and there was just a bit of dew and it worked in our favour.”

The CSK captain went on to laud Ambati Rayudu for his efforts and commented, “Rayudu batted really well. Got a very good partnership and then Bravo striking at the end, overall it went perfectly according to the script. Not exactly as we had planned, but still the script was good. This was a slightly slowish wicket and that’s why AB’s knock was special. It wasn’t an easy wicket, it was not a wicket where you could bat like that credit to him. Happy that people are chipping in for us and we are chasing down big totals and at the same time it is a good exposure for some of our death bowlers.”

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