IPL 2023
IPL 2023: ‘I am always involved in what needs to be done rather than thinking about the result’ – MS Dhoni
By SMCS - Apr 18, 2023 8:00 am
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Chennai Super Kings won by 8 runs over Royal Challengers Bangalore at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 17 in the IPL 2023. Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and opted to bowl. Batting first, Chennai Super Kings posted 226 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Devon Conway played a quickfire 83 and Shivam Dube smashed 52 and helped CSK put up a massive total.

chennai super kings
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

While chasing, Royal Challengers Bangalore lost Virat Kohli very cheaply. However, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell stepped up with the bat. They added 126 runs and scored respective fifties as well. Later, Dinesh Karthik too tried but their efforts went in vain as they lost by 8 runs.

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Here is what the captains and the player of the match said after the game:

Devon Conway, Player of the Match said as quoted by Cricbuzz: Very happy with the way things went tonight. I didn’t quite hit the straps in the first few games. Good win for us as a group. My recipe is quite simple – try and play good cricket shots. When I’m under pressure, just try and react and take options that are best for me. I don’t wanna be too predictable. Just using my crease to try and put bowlers off their lengths. Second year playing for CSK, it’s been special. The support is phenomenal, they are loyal as well. Makes it a lot better when you have MS Dhoni in your team too. We are really grateful.

MS Dhoni said as quoted by Cricbuzz: When you come to Bangalore, you know it’s a good wicket. Early part of IPL you get a lot of dew. You want to start well and then alter whatever is there in your mind. It was slightly tacky to start off. It’s important to go through that and then look to accelerate. We kept it simple and tried to get as much as possible in the second half of the game. (On Dube) He is someone who can hit very cleanly. He has an issue with the fast bowlers but he’s a clean hitter against the spinners. We had certain plans for him but once he arrived for our camp, he was injured. So we couldn’t do a lot of work. We feel that he’s somebody who can deliver and who can get those extra runs in the middle overs. He needs to believe in that more than us. We know he has the talent, but once you cross the boundary ropes into the field you are on your own. Whenever you score 220, the batsmen need to keep on hitting. If Faf and Maxi had continued, they would have won it by the 18th over. I keep assessing from behind the wicket, I am always involved in what needs to be done rather than thinking about the result. (Death overs) It is a difficult one for the youngsters, specially at this time of the year with the dew around. But they are working hard. Bravo is one of the specialists. Under him, the bowlers will gain confidence. It’s a team game. The coach, the bowling coach and the senior players guide them.

csk
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

Tushar Deshpande said as quoted by Cricbuzz: We all know when we play in Bangalore it will be a good pitch with small boundaries, we have to embrace that. I stuck to the plans and was able to execute them. Today, one side was big and the other was really small. So trying to keep the batters score to the bigger side was the plan. MS just said to the bowlers we’ve spoken a lot about our plans, now it is about execution. I’m a big believer of staying in the present. In T20 cricket, even if one over comes here and there, I have three more overs to come back and make an impact. I just try to stay in the moment and keep the belief in myself.

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Faf du Plessis said as quoted by Cricbuzz: Early on in the match, I was diving around and I thought I went at it with my rib, that was the cause of discomfort. I think we played it perfectly, the last five overs were set up for the finish. DK finishing the game, that’s bread and butter for him, but that shows how good their bowling was. 200 was going to be par, we went for few runs towards the end. We could have minimised the damage by restricting them (for less than 20 in an over.) The last four overs was where it was set up for a perfect finish. It was one of those wickets, one of the best (for batters.) As a bowler you need to be skilful, Siraj was unbelievable. We couldn’t manage to finish it off, but we got to move on. I lost a little bit of power towards the end, was disappointed as I got stiff. Need to keep going harder against the spinners in the middle overs.