Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni termed dropped catches and missed opportunities at the crucial junctures as reasons behind his team’s defeat against defending champions Mumbai Indians. Both teams locked horns in the 27th match of the Indian Premier League 2021 in a high-scoring thriller, where Kieron Pollard helped his team to chase down the target on the last ball of the game.
Dhoni opined dropped catches proved vital as MI rode on their luck to chase the target. Notably, Faf du Plessis fluffed an easy chance of Pollard in the 18th over when he was batting on 68. This drop chance proved costly as he took his team over the line.
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“I think it was a brilliant wicket and I feel the difference between the two sides was the execution – how off we were. Without being too tough for the bowlers, catches do help. I felt we dropped catches at the crucial point,” said Dhoni in the post-match presentation.
“It doesn’t hurt much when you’re on the top of the table. If you look at how it really went, we were very off-target and against good batters who hit hard, it’s important to execute the plans. Even if you don’t get hit for one or two sixes, in the 20th over that can win you the game.”
Despite the defeat, Dhoni isn’t much worried as they are still sitting at the top of the points table. CSK’s five-game winning streak also ended with this game. The former Indian skipper said his team is looking at one game at a time.
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“It hurts but the spirits will be up. When you’re under the pump, you learn more. Irrespective of where we are on the points table, we look at one game at a time. Ultimately, if you do that, the points table will take care of itself,” he further added.
CSK will play Rajasthan Royals in their next game on Wednesday.
