IPL 2019: The Super Kings missed MS Dhoni badly, feels Rashid Khan

Hyderabad: In the absence of MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings went down to the Sunrisers Hyderabad bringing an end to their 3-match winning streak. His absence was clearly felt during the 2nd innings as the CSK bowling which is at best average on paper, couldn’t live up to expectations for the first time. Even with the bat, the Super Kings fell well short of a winning total despite a solid opening stand as they missed Dhoni’s finishing.

The visiting team finished with 132/5 in their 20 overs scoring only 52 runs in the last ten. Some good bowling in the last five overs ensured the Super Kings scored only 30 runs in that period; the 3rd fewest in their history while batting first. The CSK skipper is the leading run-getter for his team in this season. He scored 230 runs from six innings at an average of 76.66 with help of two fifties.

The Sunrisers leg-spinner Rashid Khan also felt that Dhoni could have boosted the CSK’s total. The Afghanistan star player claimed that his absence cost CSK at least 30 runs given the start they got. “I think you can say he (Dhoni) is a great finisher. And the finish that they wanted was missed like taking the team score from 130 to 160-170,” said Rashid Khan about Dhoni’s absence in CSK’s playing XI.

“I think that kind of difference MS has already made in the whole tournament. Whenever the team struggled, he just came in and finished the innings. His finishing was crucial and maybe that’s what the team missed today,” Rashid told during the post-match press conference in Hyderabad.

Tahir is a great guy: Rashid

Rashid Khan also spoke about another veteran in the CSK line-up, Imran Tahir. The SRH strike bowler spoke about the bond he shares with the fellow leg-spinner who was a 2-year-old first-class cricketer by the time Rashid was born. He also said about how Tahir helps him by sharing his experiences at the big stage.

“He is a great guy. It’s always a wonderful feeling watching him (Tahir), especially when he gets a wicket and celebrates,” says Rashid. “We always speak a lot about what we do as a bowler especially in situations when the wicket is not turning that much. He has been sharing experiences with me which have helped me a lot,” he added.

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