MS Dhoni praises CSK after victory over KKR, but remains coy on IPL future: ‘Nothing to decide as of now’

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni continued to dodge questions regarding his future in the Indian Premier League after providing the finishing touch in his team’s thrilling two-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. ‘Captain Cool’ struck a six in a tense final over and remained unbeaten on 17, even if he consumed 18 deliveries for the same, as CSK chased down the 180-run target set by KKR with two wickets and as many deliveries to spare.

This was after left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad collected 4/31 to ensure the Knight Riders finished well short of the 200-mark and Dewald Brevis (52 off 25) and Urvil Patel’s (31 off 11) whirlwind knocks helped the Super Kings recover from a disastrous start. Chennai were staring at a 10th defeat in 12 games this season after getting reduced to 60/5 when Brevis brought the visiting team back into the contest with a 22-ball half-century, which included a 30-run over off Vaibhav Arora’s bowling.

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‘It is the approach, mental toughness that you want to check’: MSD

Shivam Dube (45 off 40) helped take the game deep but it was ultimately left to Dhoni and Anshul Kamboj, who struck the winning boundary in the only delivery that he faced, to get the team over the line after they were left needing 8 to win from the last over.

“When we started, hardly anyone was scoring. Good to see the batters have intent, important to back yourself and play the shots that you think are your shots. These are the players that are part of our squad right now, so we have an opportunity test them. We are out of the tournament, so you give them a chance, see how they react. It is the approach, the mental toughness that you want to check. ,” CSK captain Dhoni said after his team’s victory on Wednesday.

“Thanks to Brevis, he gave us that luxury (to take it deep). Did not want to give wickets to Sunil and Varun. It was holding for the spinners, but for the pacers, it was not that great and difficult for them to get away. Not to forget that I was the last batter, the tension becomes a lot (if I get out), so rotating strike (gets tougher),” he added.

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Dhoni remained coy on his future as an active cricketer while thanking the sizeable CSK supporters’ army that had gathered at the iconic venue despite their team having already been eliminated from the playoffs race.

“That’s the love and affection I have got throughout, not to forget, I’m 43 and I have played for a long time. They don’t know when it will be my last year, it is a fact I play only 2 months a year. This IPL gets over, then I have to work for the next six-eight months to see if my body is able to take this kind of pressure,” said Dhoni, whose cricketing appearances are limited to the IPL.

“Nothing to decide as of now, but the love and affection I get everywhere is excellent,” ‘Thala’ added when asked about his retirement.

KKR were 10-15 runs short: Rahane

Defending champions KKR complicated their chances of securing a top-four finish and making a second consecutive appearance in the playoffs with their sixth defeat of the season in 11 outings. The Knight Riders cannot afford any more slip ups in their last two league games of the season, and might need other results to go their way even if end the league phase with back-to-back wins.

Kolkata skipper Ajinkya Rahane, for one, felt that his team did not have enough runs on the board to begin with while discussing the reasons for his team’s defeat.

“It’s a tough thing to be on the losing side, I think we were 10-15 runs short. We thought 185-195 would have been an ideal total on this wicket, but I think it was a great game. In this format that things are bound to happen, an over here and there, but I think they batted really well and took their chances.

“Brevis and Dube they took their chances and it really paid off. No complaints but I think our bowlers bowled really well. It is pretty simple, now we have to win two out of two, let’s see what happens from here on,” Rahane, who had played for CSK in the last two IPL seasons, said after the game.