‘He said 'I’ll go' – Stephen Fleming on MS Dhoni promoting himself ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in DCvsCSK Qualifier 1

Chennai Super Kings’ head coach Stephen Fleming revealed the happenings in the CSK dugout before MS Dhoni went out to bat in the team’s Qualifier 1 against Delhi Capitals on Sunday in Dubai. Despite not being in the best of form, Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, who have played quite a few cameos for the Yellow Army in the 2021 Indian Premier League.

In the penultimate over of CSK’s run-chase, Dhoni came to bat with 24 needed off 11 balls and started with a dot. But once he smashed Avesh Khan for a six over deep mid-wicket, there was no stopping the 40-year-old. Fleming said that he didn’t think of stopping Dhoni from going keeping in mind the latter’s ability to take the Super Kings home in crunch moments.

It was emotionally great for us, says Stephen Fleming

“There was a lot of chat. We spoke more in those 20 overs than we have for a long time. There was a lot of technical discussion and manoeuvring to try and work out how this was going to unfold,“ Fleming said in the post-match press conference.

“When the captain got looked in his eyes, he said ‘I’ll go’; it’s been well-documented the times that he has done that. Today was one of those. I am not holding him back, and we saw the result of that,” he stated.

With CSK requiring 13 runs off the last five balls, Dhoni laid into Tom Curran, who leaked three fours and also bowled a wide under pressure. Dhoni stayed unbeaten on a six-ball 18, helping CSK win by four wickets with two balls left.

“It was emotionally great for us. We wish him every time he goes out. We know the pressure he has and the expectation there is on him. Again, he came up trumps for us. It was emotional in many ways, and was very important. And the captain had the opportunity to do that for us,” Fleming added.

The Super Kings went into the game on the back of three losses on the trot. But the win in Qualifier 1 has sent them to the final to take place on October 15 in Dubai itself.