On Monday, Chennai Super Kings fell to second place on the points standings after losing by three wickets to Delhi Capitals in a low-scoring match in Dubai. After being put into bat by DC captain Rishabh Pant, CSK scored 136 runs in their 20 overs. With an undefeated 55 from 43 deliveries, Ambati Rayudu was the top scorer. With the ball not coming on to the bat, the pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on, and even DC batters battled to get going. DC was eventually victorious thanks to a cameo of 28 runs off 18 deliveries from West Indies hitter Shimron Hetmyer.
While there was no doubt that the pitch was tough for batters, CSK captain MS Dhoni’s 18-run knock off 27 deliveries had many wondering what may have happened if the in-form Ravindra Jadeja had batted ahead of his skipper. Jadeja, who has bailed CSK out on numerous occasions with quickfire knocks in the death overs, was limited to only two deliveries.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan remarked on Cricbuzz’s mid-innings broadcast that Dhoni should bat further down the order because of his current batting form and what could be the best batting line-up for CSK.
“The honest truth is if you are picking a Chennai batting unit on a must-win day, you could argue that MS Dhoni should come behind Jadeja, Bravo and Thakur, with the way that he is playing. That is just the honest truth,” Vaughan said, while in conversation with veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and cricket presenter Gaurav Kapur.
“I hate saying that because he is a legend of the game. If you are looking at the best batting line-up at the minute, in the form that the players are in, you would say that MS Dhoni would not be coming in where he came in today,” Vaughan added.
He also stated that when batting first, Chennai Super Kings have a target in mind that they strive to reach and then back themselves to defend.
“I just get a sense with this Chennai team today they got this number in the head, saw yesterday’s game, and they wanted to get somewhere competitive around 130-140. They got there by playing conventional and then with the ball in hand they tried to see if 136 was good enough.
“They seem like a team who who have this strategy. They look out for this number and try to go and get it and they back themselves to defend it,” Vaughan added.
CSK could have won the match if Krishnappa Gowtham, the substitute fielder, hadn’t lost a key Hetmyer catch in the 18th over.
On Thursday, Chennai Super Kings will play Punjab Kings in their final league game in an attempt to finish in the top two positions.
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