Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni talked up the role of a finisher in limited-overs matches after providing a masterclass in it on Wednesday against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier Leagye.
Dhoni hit an unbeaten 34-ball 70, while opener Ambati Rayudu hit 82 off 53 balls, as Chennai passed Bangalore’s 205/8 with two balls to spare. CSK needed 16 runs in the last over before Dhoni hit Corey Anderson over long-on for his seventh six of the night to claim the brilliant victory.
Dhoni’s effort was remarkable considering he came into bat at No 6 when CSK were reeling with the score at 74/4 in nine overs. The 36-year-old then combined with Rayudu to stitch together what would turn out to be a match-winning partnership of 101 runs for the fifth wicket.
After Rayudu was dismissed in the 18th over, Dhoni then partnered up with Dwayne Bravo to ensure CSK crossed the finish line in style. Asked what was the secret of his finishing in the post-match presentation, Dhoni revealed it’s not just about slamming and slogging but also helping his partners to score.
“What’s important in a chase is to know which bowler has how many [overs] left and what are the options the [opposition] captain has got, who is the best bowler on that particular wicket, and [figuring out] who you can take considering the conditions and the variaitons the bowler has got,” he said.
Dhoni added that not all batsmen, especially the younger ones, know what their strengths are and it’s the job of the experienced finisher to guide them through tough chases. “I always felt it is quite simple – you may win a few games, you may not win a few games, but it’s the process that is more important.
“If you keep doing the same, keep improving, help the people around you as to whom they can target according to their strengths...Not everybody knows what kind of game is theirs and what are their strengths.
“I feel that’s what the job of a finisher is. Of course, you will score runs with the kind of experience you’ve got, but if you can help others score at that point of time, run quickly between the wickets, tell them what the bowler may be looking to do, all those things really matter.
“It’s not only about me batting at the death, but also sharing that experience with the youngsters or whoever is batting and helping them get the scores. Tomorrow I may not be batting with them, I may get out, but still they need to do the job,” he added.
Dhoni also said that he initially thought the 206-run target was going to be difficult to chase following AB de Villiers’ 68 off 30 balls. “In the innings break I thought it was a difficult chase. AB batted really well to get them past 200 and I thought it was 15-20 runs beyond par,” said Dhoni.
“The key was the two left handers (Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja) and we lost them quite early. We had to keep hanging in there for a while. It’s a small ground, the ball travels over here, there was a bit of dew, and it worked in our favour,” he added.
The win took Dhoni’s side, returning to the IPL after a two year corruption ban, to the top of the IPL table with five wins from six games. Indian captain Virat Kohli’s Bangalore are in a slump with just two wins and the IPL season now half gone.
Kohli will need to study his tactics after his batsmen delivered – South Africans Quinton De Kock (53) and AB de Villiers (68) plundered 103 for the second wicket in under nine overs – but his bowlers failed.
With inputs from AFP