MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming decided to stick with veteran opener Shane Watson, whose position in the team was under the scanner.
Veteran wicket-keeper batsman and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni. (Photo: IANS).
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a satisfied man after his team got back to the winning ways on Thursday with a 10-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab.
Despite some questions over team selection, especially with Shane Watson’s place, CSK played with an unchanged team and beat Punjab by 10 wickets with Australian opener playing a match-winning knock.
“(Consistency in selection) is something we bank on,” said Dhoni in the post-match presentation ceremony. “Fleming doesn’t get the kind of recognition he should. The good thing is that we decide each and every thing between us. It’s not like we don’t have debates over selections or positions. But it stays between us.”
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Watson and Faf du Plessis were the unbeaten stars on Sunday as CSK beat Kings XI Punjab by 19 wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“We did the small things right. Believed in the process. We were looking for the kind of start today. That’s where experience counts hopefully we can replicate this in the coming days,” he said.
“It’s not about being more aggressive. Watson was looking good in the nets. But what you want is to replicate that. It was just a matter of time that he gets going. Faf is like a sheet anchor for us. He can always confuse the bowlers with shots like the lap shot. They compliment each other well.”
Chasing 179, openers Watson and du Plessis scored unbeaten 83 off 53 balls and 87 off 53 balls respectively to help CSK register their second win of this year’s cash-rich tournament.
The win has bailed CSK out of the bottom position and taken them to the sixth spot with four points from five matches. Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, are currently languishing at eighth with just one win under their name.
Opting to bat first, Punjab rode on skipper KL Rahul’s 52-delivery knock of 63 and Nicholas Pooran’s fiery finishing touch to the innings with his 33 runs off 17 balls. Mayank Agarwal and Mandeep Singh also contributed 26 and 27 runs respectively in Punjab’s total or 178/4.
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