We were slightly short of a par score, says Dhoni

I feel we need to take some catches because that really helps to take wickets, you can slow down the opposition. Other than that, I feel from the batting unit as a whole, I felt it was a good effort, Dhoni explained

HYDERABAD: We were slightly short of a par score, said Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni after his team lost to Punjab Kings in Chennai, which was incidentally an unprecedented fifth consecutive loss at home this season for CSK.

This loss also means CSK, which won the IPL five times, was the first team to be eliminated from this season.

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“I think the batting, yes, it was the first time when we had put enough runs on the board, but was it a par score? I feel [we were] slightly short,” Dhoni said in the post-match briefing on Wednesday.

“So yes, a bit demanding from the batsmen, but I felt we could have got slightly more. That partnership between Brevis and Curran was excellent. And, I feel we need to take some catches because that really helps to take wickets, you can slow down the opposition. Other than that, I feel from the batting unit as a whole, I felt it was a good effort,” Dhoni explained.

Dhoni also felt not to forget when it’s a high-scoring games, they didn’t play the last four deliveries and the second last over, they got four batters out, another three deliveries and in close games, seven deliveries meant a lot.

“Whenever Sam Curran turns up, he wants to contribute, whether it’s with the bat or with the ball,” Dhoni said. “So unfortunately, so far, when we tried to give him a chance the wicket was on the slower side and he found it slightly difficult,” he said.

“But I felt today’s wicket was one of the best that we have got in the tournament when it comes to the home venue. So I feel the wicket was really good and that’s the reason I felt we needed another 15 runs,” Dhoni said.