Indian Premier League 2023: In a dramatic Game 17 of the IPL 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings by 3 runs to make it two victories in a row. RR withstood a late onslaught from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja to defeat CSK in a nail-biting match. Jos Buttler (52 off 36) and the spinners were the heroes for visitors. After the match, MS Dhoni made some key points on his mindset while chasing. Chennai skipper also blamed batters for loss as they played too many dot balls in middle overs.
RR scored a strong 175/8, Buttler was ably helped by Devdutt Padikkal (38 off 26), R Ashwin (30 off 22), and Shimron Hetmyer (30 off 18). The RR spinners strangled the CSK batters and often picked off wickets in the middle overs. Before Sandeep Sharma kept his composure to defend 21 off the final over against the raging Jadeja and Dhoni.
Pacer Sandeep Sharma maintained his composure and defended 20 runs in the final over. In the second and third balls of his final over, Dhoni hit Sandeep for back-to-back sixes, but the medium pacer fought back valiantly.
In the arc & out of the park! 💪 💪
That was one mighty hit from MSD 👏 👏
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/IgV0Ztjhz8#TATAIPL | #CSKvRR | @msdhoni | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/UU9cetHVHv
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2023
Sandeep was tasked with defending 5 runs on the final ball to secure RR’s stunning victory while Dhoni was on strike. At the Chepauk, the RR pacer struck his yorker perfectly to foil CSK dream.
WHAT. A. GAME! 👏 👏
Another day, another last-ball finish in #TATAIPL 2023! 😎@sandeep25a holds his nerve as @rajasthanroyals seal a win against #CSK! 👍 👍
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/IgV0Ztjhz8#CSKvRR pic.twitter.com/vGgNljKvT6
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2023
Injured MS Dhoni shocking claim after match
“With 6 (5) needed off 1 ball, he bowled 2 really good deliveries from around the wicket. Any thing going on your mind to change something or just wait?” Shastri asked Dhoni in post-match presentation.
“I would wait for it and that is something which has worked for me, and at the end of the day, the bowler is under more pressure, even if he misses by a few inches, I can hit it for a six. You need to back your strength and my strength is to hit straight,” Dhoni replied.
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The veteran cricketer revealed his mindset and how he counts on bowlers’ mistakes in death overs.
“You see the field, see the bowler and what the bowler is trying to do, after that just stand still and wait for them to commit the mistake, if they bowl in good areas then good luck to them,” Dhoni told Shastri.
CSK skipper was critical of batters playing too many dot balls.
“I think in the middle overs we needed a bit more strike rotation, there were too many dot balls. There wasn’t much for the spinners but they had experienced spinners and we could not rotate strike. It was not that difficult and the ownership (of the loss) should come from the batters. It was good that we could reach striking distance (of the target) as we were the last pair,” MSD added.
Chennai Super Kings will next play Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday.
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