Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith said, MS Dhoni “found his best again” in a 27-run victory over the Delhi Capitals at the Chepauk Stadium, securing Chennai Super Kings’ playoff spot in the 2023 IPL.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith said, MS Dhoni “found his best again” in a 27-run victory over the Delhi Capitals at the Chepauk Stadium, securing Chennai Super Kings’ playoff spot in the 2023 IPL.
Six players scored 20 runs or more for CSK, who had a balanced batting lineup that allowed them to score 167 runs, including a blistering 20 from MS Dhoni (9b, 1×4, 2×6) on Wednesday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, and Ravindra Jadeja joined Dhoni in the 20-run club, with Dube’s 25 runs being the most (12b, 3×6).
Delhi had a poor start, losing their Top-3 with just 25 runs on board. Rilee Rossouw managed to score 35 runs (37b, 2×4, 1×6), but he was unable to do it quickly enough to meet the target.
Dhoni got to step onto the pitch at Chepauk to a vociferous reception from the CSK home fans, where he scored 20 runs in just 9 balls.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith recognized the incredible pressure under which Dhoni plays and said,
“The pressure on him every time he goes to bat is enormous. The roars every time he gets on strike, and the crowd goes berserk. It’s incredible to watch, this season, he has found his best again. Khaleel was bowling well until that over against MS, he kind of read the play and had him under pressure. Once he hit that one down the ground, you could just see Khaleel, he didn’t think he’d get it going. That put him under pressure. 20 off 9, strike rate of over 220, just the impetus he and Jadeja gave that inning, that 160 total created pressure.”
With this win, Chennai can increase their season total of wins to seven, trailing the defending champions and top-ranked Gujarat Titans by just a point.
Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel on JioCinema laid out what CSK could be aiming for to solidify their qualification,
“We had discussed that a win today would almost guarantee qualification for the playoffs and they can focus on trying to finish one or two. Finish one or two will ensure they play a match in Chennai, so we could see Chennai play in the finals once again. We know how they have played here. Look at their batting tonight, Shivam Dube led all scorers with 25 runs, with others getting around 20 to 22 and we still saw a total of 167. The way they fielded, and bowled, everything looks to be going fine. That’s why the team can aim for finishing first or second.”
With only four wins in 11 games, Delhi Capitals, who are currently last in the IPL table, have effectively eliminated any chance of qualifying.
Though it is still possible, Graeme Smith believes their season is all but wrapped up,
“I think that they are gone. As a team, they had a little bit of momentum; they needed to keep winning to have a chance. I just think there are too many other teams that have the opportunity to get to 16 points, so I think Delhi is in big trouble in this tournament in what has been a very disappointing campaign for them.”