Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni looked a satisfied man after beating Mumbai Indians by five wicket in the first match of this season’s Indian Premier League at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
However, despite a clinical and all-round performance from his team, Dhoni demanded improvement in some areas, while admitting that there were positives to be taken from the match as well.
“You want to assess the conditions and give your best,” Dhoni said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“I felt we took time to gauge how to bowl in these conditions. The MI batsmen batted well, they were able to put pressure on us. Overall, plenty of positives, but plenty of areas to improve,” he said.
Another aspect that the former Indian captain highlighted was the injury factor. He said that he was relieved that no one got hurt considering that most of the CSK players players have retired from international cricket.
“Overall, a very good first game to play and no injuries — most of us are retired. (Experience) does pay off. Especially these days with three-match series, playing 300 ODIs is a big feat. You need a good mix of youngsters and experience. What really helps youngsters in the IPL is the fact that there are lots of senior players from different countries for 60-70 days,” the skipper said.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, said that no batsman in his team could carry on like Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis did for CSK. MI were restricted to 162/9 despite being 121/3 at the start of the 15th over.
“None of our batsmen carried on for us, like du Plessis and Rayudu did for CSK. Credit to the CSK bowlers, they bowled well at the end to pull things back,” he said.
“We all want to start really well… it’s crucial in this tournament where momentum is important. Few things for us to learn from this game, we did make a few mistakes. Hopefully we’ll rectify those and come out smarter in the next game,” he added.
Brilliant half-centuries from Ambati Rayudu (71) and Faf du Plessis (58 not out), added with a fiery six-ball cameo of 18 runs by Sam Curran, helped CSK beat Mumbai for the first time in five matches in IPL.