Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi is not quite sure why he didn't get to bowl in the death overs against Chennai Super Kings on despite a fine spell but backed his captain Rishabh Pant's decision.
Pant had opted for pace over spin in the closing stages of CSK's run chase when Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined Shivam Dube (43) in the middle with the visitors needing 56 from the last five overs.
The decision backfired as Dhoni blasted 26 off 11 balls as CSK achieved the victory target of 167 with three balls to spare.
"I didn't really talk (to Pant) about it. I came to the wicket twice, but maybe he had some plans in mind. He probably wanted to execute something else...," Bishnoi said during the post-match press conference.
"A captain can see better and from behind the stumps, he can understand the situation better. So according to me, he took the decision that he felt was better.
"It was clear in his mind. In a tense situation, it is better for a captain to think from his point of view so he took what was the better decision," he added.
Bishnoi bowled nine dot balls in his three overs, dismissing Rahul Tripathi and Ravindra Jadeja in the ninth and 13th overs respectively.
A five-time
Highlighting his influence in the team, CSK bowling coach Eric Simmons said: "His influence has been there all the time, even when he wasn't captain. His relationship with Rutu is very important. His relationship with Fleming and all the players is very important.
"It's not that he teaches typical technical issues about the game, but it's the calmness that you see out there—that's how he teaches you to play the game.
"He teaches an understanding of cricket, which is a very important aspect of the game. So that influence, that calmness that he brings, has always been there, but tonight we saw it once again."
Dhoni was named the Player of the Match for his contribution on the field and also scored 26 off 11 balls to take CSK home against LSG.
"The fact that he's captain or not captain -- he's the same person. It didn't change when he wasn't, in terms of his actual influence on the team. He's obviously a very important part of our setup," Simmons said.
"It's a pity that Ruturaj is not there to play and be our captain and our leader, but MS has always been like that. It doesn't feel like a massive change because he's always been there to give advice, give thoughts, give inputs.
"And as I said, he's always a calming influence and gives a great level of understanding about how cricket should be played. His wisdom is tremendous."
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