Is MS Dhoni finished as a T20 batsman? CSK coach Stephen Fleming replies!

Dhoni
made
a
vastly
sub-par
18
off
27
deliveries
without
even
one
boundary
and
his
strike
rate
was
very
un-T20
like
66
in
an
IPL
2021
match
against
Delhi
Capitals.
There
have
been
calls
from
various
quarters
to
look
beyond
Dhoni
at
least
for
the
IPL
2022
but
CSK
coach
Stephen
Fleming
defended
the
veteran
cricketer.

Shimron
Hetmyer
played
an
unbeaten
knock
of
28
runs
off
just
18
balls
to
help
Delhi
Capitals
defeat
CSK
by
three
wickets
with
two
balls
to
spare.

With
this
win,
Rishabh
Pant-led
outfit
moved
to
the
top
of
the
points
table
with
20
points
from
13
games.

“Dhoni
was
not
the
only
one,
it
was
a
difficult
day
for
stroke
play.
137
was
almost
enough,
it
was
a
tough
wicket
to
score
big
on
in
terms
of
big
shots,
both
teams
struggled
with
it
towards
the
end
of
the
innings.
Sometimes,
you
set
your
sights
too
high,
probably
we
were
just
10-15
runs
short
of
having
a
match-winning
score,”
said
Fleming
during
a
virtual
post-match
press
conference.

”That
is
the
difficulty
at
the
moment,
trying
to
assess
what
the
conditions
are
at
three
different
grounds,
there
was
no
lack
of
intent.
We
had
to
stabilise
after
a
couple
of
mistakes.
Delhi
bowled
well
in
the
last
five
overs,
they
were
really
smart,”
he
added.

Earlier,
Ambati
Rayudu
played
an
unbeaten
knock
of
55
runs
off
43
balls
as
CSK
posted
a
total
of
136/5
in
the
allotted
20
overs.
For
Delhi
Capitals,
Axar
Patel
returned
with
figures
of
2-18.

“Yeah,
I
rather
have
two
defeats
now
than
have
two
semifinals,
if
I
have
a
wish
list.
There
were
a
lot
of
mistakes
from
both
sides.
Sometimes,
when
you
have
qualified,
things
do
change.
We
are
trying
to
maintain
the
intensity,
there
were
clumsy
mistakes
from
us
which
was
the
most
disappointing
aspect.

”But
in
terms
of
the
competition,
one
of
the
most
important
things
is
rebounding.
We
need
to
just
to
get
our
intensity
back
as
before,”
said
Fleming.

“The
pitch
if
you
watched
it,
it
was
very
difficult.
There
was
inconsistency,
Bravo
is
not
someone
who
bangs
the
ball
in,
his
changes
in
pace
and
yorkers
are
his
key
weapons.
I
thought
tactics
were
sport
on.
We
did
it
really
well,”
he
added.

CSK
will
next
lock
horns
against
Punjab
Kings
on
Thursday
at
the
Dubai
International
Stadium.

Dhoni
upbeat
despite
defeat

Chennai
Super
Kings
skipper
Mahendra
Singh
Dhoni
praised
his
teammates
for
taking
the
game
against
Delhi
Capitals
till
the
last
over.
Despite
CSK
scoring
136
in
the
allotted
20
overs,
the
match
went
down
the
wire
both
teams
fighting
hard
for
the
win
in
the
last
over.

“It
was
a
very
good
effort
to
make
a
game
out
of
it.
Was
important
not
to
give
too
many
in
the
first
six.
There
was
one
expensive
over
in
the
first
six,
but
when
quality
players
are
batting
it
can
happen,”
said
Dhoni
during
the
post-match
presentation.

“It’s
a
two-paced
wicket.
It’s
not
like
it
slowed
down
drastically.
Can’t
just
play
your
shots.
That’s
what
the
Delhi
batters
also
faced.
I
felt
the
taller
bowlers
were
getting
movement,”
said
Dhoni.

Dhoni
said
the
CSK
were
looking
to
get
close
to
150
and
that
would
have
been
a
good
score
to
defend.

“We
were
looking
to
get
closer
to
150.
After
we
lost
a
few
wickets,
around
the
15-16th
over
mark
the
platform
was
nice.
We
failed
to
accelerate.
I
thought
it
was
a
tough
pitch.
Anything
close
to
150
would’ve
been
a
good
score,”
said
Dhoni.