CSK’s Baffling Move: Questions Arise as Dhoni Faces Just 3 Balls in 2nd Straight Loss

Everyone was wondering whether Chennai Super Kings would send MS Dhoni off a bit early in upcoming games to take advantage of his incredible form after his thundering cameo against Delhi Capitals last Sunday, which left cricket fans around the world in awe. With everybody of the Chennai team—aside from Shivam Dube—struggling on the slow Hyderabad track set up for the Sunrisers match on Friday night at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, the question only became more reasonable. But as the team lost the IPL 2024 series for the second time in a row, analysts were perplexed by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and the CSK management’s choice to send Dhoni at No. 7. This move was later described as a critical mistake.

Shane Watson and Brett Lee, among others, forced CSK to promote Dhoni following his brilliant 37 off 16 against Delhi in Vizag, which featured four boundaries and three sixes. However, Chennai’s chase of 192 was too much for Dhoni to overcome. After SRH captain Pat Cummins dismissed Dube in the fourteenth over, Chennai was predicted to dismiss Dhoni at number six. Rather, Daryl Mitchell was put ahead, and the New Zealand batsman found it difficult to cope with the Sunriser’s fast bowlers’ slower deliveries. In his 11 balls, and 13 runs, he was removed by T Natarajan after only hitting one boundary.

Following his removal with three balls remaining in the innings, Dhoni faced just two deliveries and scored a single off Natarajan, helping CSK score 165 for five in 20 overs. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan questioned the rationale behind holding back Dhoni, who he feels could have dictated the terms against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat, after SRH chased down the total with 11 balls to spare, handing Chennai their second straight loss in the IPL 2024, both away from home. “After CSK lost by six wickets, I think Dhoni, the right-hand batsman, should have batted up the order vs SRH, considering off cutter planning in to the pitch and match up against Bhuvi and Unadkat,” he tweeted.

Former cricket players Simon Doull and Michael Vaughan expressed their surprise at the strategy in comments on Cricbuzz. It surprises me that he didn’t get on the field sooner given what he did in the previous game. “I don’t understand why he’s only played three balls,” the former captain of England remarked. Doull went on, “He has the strength and ability to hit those slower balls.” I was a little taken aback, but we have seen it before and he has done it before.

Also Read: IPL 2024 Orange Cap Update: Abhishek Sharma Climbs to Fifth as SRH Triumph over CSK

Gaikwad’s ‘honest’ take on where CSK lost the match

Gaikwad acknowledged that SRH had a good bowling strategy to rally late in CSK’s innings, but he believed the visitors lost the match when the home team scored 78 runs in the powerplay for just one wicket. “It was a slow pitch, to be honest. They bowled brilliantly in the last overs, controlled the game, and prevented us from scoring. After the loss, the captain of CSK stated, “I thought we did well in the beginning (of the match), but they came back well later.” “We conceded too many in the batting PP, one dropped catch and one expensive over.”