Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lauded his bowlers and fielders for their ‘fantastic’ victory over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match in Chennai on Tuesday.
Brilliant Bravo helps Chennai edge past holders Kolkata
CSK pulled off a sensational last-ball two-run win over KKR and Dhoni described it as fantastic.
"It is a fantastic victory. This was the wicket where you don't know what is a good score. It's where if you bat well you can score 160 and if you bowl well you can defend 125. That's what I told the team. The game changes after the sixth over," said Dhoni.
"Robin gave them a good start, but we came back with some good fielding and good bowling. Raina has done well with the ball for us sometimes. He hits the seam and his trajectory is low and he can get wickets if a batsman makes mistakes.
"I wanted to save one over of Jadeja for the end, if the fast bowlers didn't bowl well. His three overs were important," he added.
Talking about his team's fielding, Dhoni said: "We did drop two catches, but the fielding was outstanding. Russell's run out was important for us. Brendon McCullum was lightning on the field. And in the middle overs, we did put pressure on them so they couldn't rotate freely."
Dhoni said he expects his team to put their best effort and not think about the result as wining and losing is a part of the game.
"We want to take one game at a time. What's important is to keep going well, of course there will be some games were you will lose, but what's important is to keep performing at your best," he said.
‘We need to be smarter’
Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir lauded his bowlers for restricting CSK to 134 but said his batsmen messed it up in the middle overs after getting a good start.
"Containing Chennai to 134 was tremendous. We should have chased it down, especially with the start we got. But the batsmen got stuck," said Gambhir.
"When you win the toss and put the opposition in, and you restrict them to 134, it is fantastic. Robin and Manish were good with the bat early on, but they didn't carry on. We just got stuck," Gambhir said.
"We should have rotated the strike. One of the top four has to bat till the 15th over especially in these kinds of totals. We need to be smarter.
"We need to stop playing so many dot balls, that's where we messed up. We play them again in two days, so hopefully we can turn it around," he said.
Bravo wanted to do something special
Dwayne Bravo, who was adjudged the Man of the Match, said after losing his wicket cheaply in their innings he wanted to do something special.
"It was a great team effort. But I am disappointed with the way I got out. I have to say well played to Faf and Ashwin's boundaries," he said.
"We knew we will do well if we could pick up wickets in the middle overs, with one side being a longer boundary. They put themselves under pressure. Well done to Mahi's captaincy."
Talking about his fielding, he said: "The catch was really special; it reminded me about four-five years ago. My body is still holding up and it's a great feeling to know I helped the team win. This situation is what I prepare myself for.
"I bowl at MS (Dhoni) and Baz (McCullum) and back home against Pollard. I tell myself that I have 14 to defend off six balls in training."
