CSK Hit Rock Bottom vs KKR, Dhoni Urges Team to “Look Deep Within” After Historic Defeat

Chepauk was considered the fortress of Chennai Super Kings not long back. However, things have taken a turn for the worse for CSK this season. They lost their third consecutive match in Chennai and fifth in the tournament. None of these had happened before, until now.

CSK crumble

Asked to bat first, CSK never really got off the blocks. They lost 2 wickets at 16. Moeen Ali bowled a wicket maiden early on. It seemed like Tripathi and Vijay Shankar were trying to rebuild the inning, as they reached 59 for 2 at one point. However, a batting collapse ensued. From 59 for 2, CSK reached 79 for 9.

Jadeja and Deepak Hooda were out for ducks. Ashwin, Dhoni and Noor Ahmad scored 1 run each.

Dube takes CSK over the 100-run mark

In the end, it was a valiant effort from Shivam Dube that took CSK beyond the 100-run mark. He was supported by Anshul Kamboj, as the duo ensured they were not bowled out. Dube scored the highest in the inning with his 31* off 29 balls.

However, it was not going to be enough. CSK could only reach 103 in 20 overs. It was the lowest score by the team at their home ground. Sunil Narine returned with figures 3 for 13 in 4 overs. Chakravarthy picked up 2 for 22 as well. Harshit Rana picked 2 wickets for just 16 runs. Moeen Ali and Vaibhav Arora got 1 wicket each.

KKR trounce CSK

In reply, it was a cakewalk for KKR. They were off to a flyer as Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine gave them a strong start. QDK was dismissed for 23 off 16 balls. Narine played a special knock of 44 off just 18 balls, hitting 2 fours and 5 sixes. Captain Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh took the team to the winning line as KKR won the game by 8 wickets, with 59 balls to spare.

Dhoni asks for looking deep inside

After the match, Dhoni said, “What is important is to look deep down inside. I feel the challenge was there, but it’s important to accept that challenge, figure out ways how you’ll tackle the difficult deliveries and then look to get runs on the board. Today, I felt we didn’t really have enough runs on the board.”

Talking about the conditions, he said, “Yes it did [stop] but it has been the case over here,” Dhoni said about the conditions. “Whenever we bowled first, even in the second innings, it stopped a bit. But today, in the first innings also it was stopping. But also, if you lose too many wickets, it looks very different because it puts pressure on the batsman who is going in and with quality spinners, it becomes slightly difficul,t and we never really got any kind of partnerships going. So that also makes it tough. I feel overall a bit more partnerships, a bit more runs, a bit more application and we’ll be on track.”

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