Had we not bowled no-balls, we would have been chasing 200: MS Dhoni

On Tuesday, September 22, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) tasted their first defeat of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), going down to Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 16 runs. As an area of improvement, MS Dhoni, the CSK skipper, said that the no-balls in the match cost CSK the game. The Super Kings bowled three no-balls in their innings and had to pay the price.

Overstepping the bowling crease would haunt Lungi Ngidi, who have away 30 runs in the 20th over of the Royals’ innings. The pacer bowled two no-balls, both of which went for sixes off Jofra Archer’s bat. The over turned out to be decisive in the context of the game at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

“Without singling out anyone, a controllable we could have controlled is no-balls. Had we not bowled no-balls, we would have been chasing 200, and it would have been a very good game,”  Dhoni told Star Sports in the post-match interview.

I haven’t batted for a long time: MS Dhoni

Dhoni also lauded Sanju Samson and Steve Smith, who both scored half-centuries and was a part of a 121-run stand for the second wicket. Samson also raced off to a 19-ball fifty, hitting as many as nine sixes in his 32-ball 74. Dhoni praised the Royals bowlers, who kept the CSK batters in check in the middle-overs, picking up wickets at regular intervals.

“217 on the board, you have had a very good start. That was not the case. They batted really well. Steve and Sanju. You have to give credit to their bowlers too. There was a lot of dew. They knew what lengths to bowl. Their spinners didn’t try too many things. That was an error our spinners made in their first couple of overs,” the 39-year-old stated.

Moreover, the Jharkhand-born Dhoni revealed the reasons behind him not batting higher up the order. “I haven’t batted for a long time. 14-day quarantine doesn’t help (why he isn’t batting higher). Also wanted to try different things, give opportunities to Sam. Have the opportunity to try different things,” he added.

CSK’s third match is against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Friday, September 25 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.