Chennai Super Kings registered a 27-run victory over Delhi Capitals in Match 55 of IPL 2023, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. Defending a target of 168 runs, CSK restricted Delhi Capitals to 140/8 in 20 overs, with Matheesha Pathirana taking three wickets and Deepak Chahar claiming two as well. Meanwhile, Rilee Roussouw played a crucial knock of 35 runs off 37 balls for Delhi. However, CSK captain MS Dhoni played an important quickfire cameo. The wicketkeeper-batter came to bat in the 17th over and he was dismissed in the second-last delivery of the innings. He hit 20 runs off nine balls which came at a strike rate of 222.22, including one four and two sixes.

Speaking after the match, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming applauded MS Dhoni and also revealed the training approach in IPL 2023.

“He’s just training a certain way, he knows he’s not going bat for a long time. He concentrated more on the last three overs. He’s not as mobile between the wickets although today he pushed really hard. So, he’s concentrated on really strong hitting practice,” he said.

“You can see the benefits of that. He is just very comfortable being able to play around the ground. We know how good a hitter her is and his access in certain areas is still very strong. That cameo again at the end was valuable in a hard-fought 20 overs”, he further added. “It’s a reflection of the way games now are played, the players play with more high risks and the way you compose an innings is a little bit different, so I’m happy with the cameos if it keeps pushing you above par.”

“What you’ve seen today, maybe a 160 wicket was turned into almost a possible 175-10 because we had positive intent through partnerships and guys playing aggressively. Dube is a good example of that, Rayudu and then MS in the end. We created enough to get ahead of the game, which we are happy with, even though we lost seven wickets”, Stephen Fleming concluded.