Chennai Super Kings batsman Faf Du Plessis on Monday heaped praise on skipper MS Dhoni for his ability to take on any bowler, making life difficult for an opposition captain.
At Pune, veteran all-rounder Shane Watson smashed a blistering 78 while Dhoni hit a quick-fire unbeaten 51 to guide Chennai to a 13-run victory over bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils. In the last two games against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Daredevils, Dhoni, with his power-hitting, reminded his critics that he is far from done.
“He [Dhoni] is in really good form at the moment, so its extremely tough to bowl to him when he is in a form like that. He has got such a big arc and if you want to bowl wide, he can still hit you to the leg side,” Du Plessis said.
“He has got a lot of options, so it makes life difficult for a bowler and a captain because he can hit any ball to wherever he wants to. That kind of form is obviously very important to us,” he added.
Impressed with Rayudu’s flexibility
Du Plessis also praised Ambati Rayadu for his ability to play in a number of positions in the batting order. “Rayadu has delivered for CSK when asked to open and even he was required to bat at the number four position. Rayadu’s flexibility has really impressed me. I have really enjoyed watching him bat in this IPL. The ability to come in and score boundaries from the first ball is a very difficult skill. That ability to come at four and five and score a boundary straight-away, not a lot of people can do that,” Du Plessis said.
“With Suresh (Raina) at three and (Rayadu) at four, if we get off to a solid start, the two can just come in and play their natural game, which ca be dangerous for the opposition. So we are fortunate that we have got a lot of options in the batting unit,” the South African skipper said.