We were short by 20 runs, says MS Dhoni

Dhoni said they kept losing wickets and another thing which he felt, in the first innings, the wicket was slightly better, and the total was not a justifiable score because it wasn't turning a lot

HYDERABAD: Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni said they were short by 15-20 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chepauk on Friday night.

In the post-match briefing after CSK lost to Sunrisers, Dhoni said they kept losing wickets and another thing which he felt, in the first innings, the wicket was slightly better, and the total was not a justifiable score because it wasn’t turning a lot.

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“Yes, after the eighth, ninth, [or] tenth over, it became slightly two-paced when it came to the fast bowlers. But nothing that was out of the ordinary. So I feel we could have run slightly better and put a few more runs on the board,” Dhoni said.

“Yes, [in the] second innings, there was a bit of help. Our spinners, the quality is there. So they were bowling in the right areas, and they got a bit of bounce. It was stopping a bit, but yeah, we were short by 15-20 runs,” the cricketing legend said.

“I think he (Dewald Brevis) batted really well, and we need something like that in the middle order,” Dhoni said. “Where we have slightly struggled is when the spinners come in, that’s the time we need to either do it by batsmanship – pick up your areas where you’re scoring – or try to play the big shot once in your area. So, I feel that’s where we have been lacking,” he said.

“We have not been able to dominate or get runs against the spinners at a good pace in the middle. So that’s one area where we want to improve because middle overs are very crucial – you have to get those extra five, ten or 15 runs, especially if you get off to a good start,” Dhoni said.

CSK hosts Punjab Kings on April 30.