Sam Billings happy to have won it for the relentless Chennai crowd

The night of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings belonged to Sam Billings, who was not just a livewire on the field but also scored a knock of 56 which helped his side beat KKR in a high-scoring game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. Chennai hosted an IPL game after two years, and the crowd, who braved security threats during the game, were the eventual winners.

Knock of 23-ball 56

Billings’ knock of 56 runs came off 23 balls and he was thus named Man-of-the-Match. In two years with Delhi Daredevils, he played only 11 games, but this season, he made the most of his debut for CSK, in which he is replacing injured Kedar Jadhav. Billings was happy to have won it for the fans who thronged up to the stadium in large numbers, not just during the game but also during the net sessions. He also acknowledged how the stadium was filled to its capacity during a net session in which Dhoni was absent from.

“It means a lot to me, of course to the team, and even more to the fans. We saw their passion, in the practice game we saw 10000 people, Dhoni wasn’t even here, he was in Mumbai for the captain’s meet. That shows how much it means to people in this part of the world,” he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

MS Dhoni the captain

He also spoke about skipper MS Dhoni, highlighting how calm and relaxed he is. Billings has played just one game for CSK yet, but is full of praises for the team culture.

“MS…he just enables people to relax, and be very calm like he is… it is a close-knit group. It has only been two games and practice games, but it is amazing how quickly it has gelled. That is the difference in these close games, team culture is a huge thing.”

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