'Want to try different things': Dhoni on batting lower down the order
Sep 23, 2020
Sharjah [UAE], September 23 : Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni has said that the team is trying out different things as of now, which is why he has dropped down the in the batting order.
His remarks came after CSK's 16-run loss against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dhoni turned up to bat in the 14th over of the innings with CSK at 114/5 when the side still needed 103 runs for the win and many pundits and experts have said that Dhoni should have come in earlier.
"Oh I haven't batted for a very long time, you know and the 14-day quarantine doesn't really help. I'm slowly trying to get into the tournament. Also at the same time, we want to try a few different things like Sam Curran or Ravindra Jadeja, sending them up," Dhoni told Star Sports at the post-match presentation.
"It's something we haven't done for a very long time and this gives us an opportunity to do that, at the start of the tournament. And as the tournament progresses you'll see the senior players stepping in and taking that responsibility, but otherwise, we have been one team that has kept doing the same thing. I feel we have an opportunity over here where we can try a few different things if it works. If it doesn't work, we can always go back to what our strengths are," he added.
Dhoni found going a little tough initially as he was able to score just nine runs off his first twelve balls, but in the final over as CSK needed 38 to win, Dhoni was able to smash 20 runs, including three sixes.
For CSK, Faf du Plessis top-scored after playing a knock of 72 from just 37 balls. The MS Dhoni-led side posted 200 in the end, but they still lost the match by 16 runs.
Earlier, Sanju Samson had played a knock of 74 runs from just 32 balls to take Rajasthan Royals' total to 216/7 in the allotted twenty overs. Skipper Steve Smith also registered 69 runs.
The game-changing moment had come in the final over of Rajasthan's innings as Jofra Archer smashed CSK's Lungi Ngidi for 30 runs.
CSK will next take on Delhi Capitals on September 25 while Rajasthan will face Kings XI Punjab on September 27.
