We need to get a lot of things right: Dhoni

Chasing 166 for victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, CSK fell short by seven runs

Dubai, October 3

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that his beleaguered Chennai Super Kings team needed to “get a lot of things right” to affect a turnaround in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

Chasing 166 for victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, CSK fell short by seven runs, with skipper Dhoni staying unbeaten on 47 off 36 balls.

“I was not able to middle a lot of deliveries. Was trying to hit it too hard. When the wicket is slightly at the slower side, it is better to time it. Looking at outfield it was subconsciously coming to us to hit the ball hard,” Dhoni said.

This was his side’s third defeat in four matches.

Asked about his struggle towards the end, Dhoni said: “I tried to get as much as time as possible. It is quite dry out here. So, the throat gets dry and you start to cough. When you have legal signs, you can take some time off.”

Dhoni made three changes to his playing XI but could not arrest the slide. He acknowledged that they need to find solutions.

“Long time back, once we lost three in a row. We need to get a lot of things right. It is professionalism. We need to take our catches, not bowl no-balls. Those are the controllables and may be we are getting too relaxed,” he said.

“We have been a bit too relaxed at times. After the 16th over, we had two good overs but overall we could have been slightly better. Nobody wants to drop catches but at this level, we need to draw a line and say these catches that need to be taken, especially when the team hasn’t been doing that outstandingly well,” he said, referring to the spilled chances when SRH’s Abhishek Sharma was batting.

“Catches like these can hamper your knockout stage games. It is very important to be at your best. There are plenty of positives in this game but we will try to come back strong,” Dhoni added.

SRH skipper David Warner took a big gamble by asking 18-year old Abdul Samad to bowl the final over when CSK needed 28 runs. The Australian defended his decision.

“I backed him (Samad). I had no option. We tried to kill the game in the 19th over with Khaleel there with five balls to bowl. Could have given it to Abhishek, but Samad with his height and the way he bowled tonight, he had to bowl the last one,” said Warner.

He also praised Proyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma for their gritty batting under pressure.

“It’s my message to the youngsters, to go out there and score some runs. These guys assessed the conditions and played well, so really really proud of them.”