Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni said that a 7.30 pm start in IPL 2021 will mean that teams batting first will have to score at least 200 runs to put the side batting second under pressure. Dhoni’s comments came after his team lost to Delhi Capitals (DC) by seven wickets here on Saturday.
CSK had put up an imposing 188/7 in their 20 overs, batting first, but DC reached the target for the loss of just three wickets and in the 19th over.
Chennai fielders dropped a couple of catches to let off opener Prithvi Shaw, who provided DC a ballistic start.
“A lot depended on how much dew you would get. That’s the reason we wanted to get as many runs as possible. You have to look ahead, especially when you have dew, you have to get extra runs. The opposition has half an hour in a 7:30 start when the pitch is really sticky and the ball stops a bit. [A] 7.30 pm start means opposition will have less amount of dew and we have to score those 15-20 runs extra. After that, you need to get early wickets also. Well, if we consistently keep getting dew, 200 is something all teams will have in mind,” said Dhoni while speaking to the broadcasters after the match.
Dhoni decried his bowlers, saying that they had conceded too many boundary deliveries to allow DC openers to get 138 for the first wicket.
“We could have done better [in bowling]. The batters were hitting over the top, there were some boundary deliveries, where the execution wasn’t nice. But the bowlers will have learned and they will apply that in the future games,” he added.
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