'It looked like he wasn't even trying' - Virender Sehwag slams MS Dhoni's captaincy against RR

After registering a convincing five-wicket triumph against defending champions Mumbai Indians, CSK locked horns with a Jos Buttler-less Rajasthan Royals in the fourth match of IPL 2020.

CSK were expected to register a consecutive victory and continue their winning momentum. However, bowing down against Sanju Samson’s whirlwind knock, they conceded 216 runs in the first innings. CSK did try to cruise towards the target but no other batsman apart from Faf du Plessis left his mark.

One thing which also raised eyebrows was Dhoni’s demotion in the batting order. Despite being considered as one of the best finishers of the game, the CSK skipper came in to bat after the likes of Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kedar Jadhav.

Like many fans, former India opener Sehwag was also not happy with Dhoni’s batting position. MSD did enthral the audience by smashing three consecutive sixes in the 20th over but the train had already left the station. Sehwag, not impressed with Mahi’s captaincy against RR, questioned his decisions during the match and also felt he was not giving his 100 per cent in the chase.

I feel Dhoni could’ve batted higher up: Virender Sehwag

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag said, “The three sixes that MS Dhoni hit in the last over made it feel like CSK came close to the target, but the reality was something different. In the middle, it looked like Dhoni wasn’t even trying to chase the target considering the number of dot balls he played.”

Opining on CSK’s batting order against RR, Sehwag said Dhoni should’ve sent Ravindra Jadeja before Kedar Jadhav. Sehwag also pointed out that Dhoni could’ve promoted himself up the ranks. He gave Dhoni 4/10 points for the captaincy decisions against RR.

“I feel Dhoni could’ve batted higher up or even sent Ravindra Jadeja to bat after Sam Curran got out. The run-rate slowed down in the middle overs. If that hadn’t happened and about 20-22 runs were required to win in the last over, the three sixes that Dhoni hit would’ve made people say ‘wow, what a finish’,” said Sehwag.

“If over 30 runs are required, those three sixes wouldn’t make a difference. I think Dhoni could’ve batted over Kedar Jadhav at least. The number of balls Jadhav played, had Dhoni been the one facing them, CSK wouldn’t have finished with the deficit of 17-18 runs that they did,” he further added.

Here’s the video: