IPL 2018 | It is Chennai Super Kings, it is not Pune Super Kings : MS Dhoni

04/21/2018

Chennai Super Kings skipper felt that despite Pune being the home of CSK, the fans have a choice whether to support CSK or other teams since it is Chennai Super Kings and not Pune Super Kings. He has also added there will be a lot more yellow in Pune as the tournament progresses.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made a much-awaited and much-hyped return to the IPL after a two-year suspension. The face of the franchise, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was also back in yellow and was also back to leading the Chennai franchise. There was enormous emotion and joy for the people of Chennai when IPL cricket returned to the city and CSK won a thrilling game against KKR on April 10 as they chased down 202.

However, the happiness and the joy was cut-short as continuous protests for the Cauvery issue meant that CSK had to shift all their home games for this year. The remaining six CSK home games got shifted to Pune, a city which has been a host to the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) for the last two years.

When CSK were banned, RPS was one of the teams that filled in for Chennai’s void. MS Dhoni played for RPS and was a key member of the side. He also led them in their first season (2016) before Steve Smith took over. The CSK skipper was happy that the fans in Pune came to support the ‘Men in Yellow’. He though felt that they have a choice to support other teams as well since it is not ‘Pune Super Kings’.

“The change of venue, when CSK was not there for a couple of years I played for Pune at that point, and the people over here, the fans here they came, they supported the team and stood by me. To a lot of extent, you can say this was the time when I could return the favour, and it was good to see the fans coming over here. They have the choice, whether to support CSK or the other teams. Because you know, it is Chennai Super Kings, it is not Pune Super Kings. But I feel by the end of the seventh home game, you’ll see a lot more yellow on the ground,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation after his team’s win against Rajasthan Royals.

After a couple of close finishes where CSK were on the winning side, they dropped a game against Kings XI Punjab as they lost by 4 runs. However, they got back to winning ways as they beat Rajasthan Royals comprehensively and climbed to the top of the points table.

“It was a big game for us, we lost the last one. It’s like an unknown territory for us. CSK is quite used to being behind and then getting into the groove, but this year it has been slightly different. Everybody has contributed, we have performed, and that’s the reason we have won so many games so far. We need to keep pushing hard, we need to keep the fitness levels up,” the former Indian skipper said.

CSK have a lot of players who are more than 30 years old. Dhoni has often joked about his side has a lot of players who are experienced but are in their 30s and hence, they might not be the best fielding side. Also, CSK have been plagued by injury issues as every game there is an injury to one of the players and it is important for players to remain fit.

“You probably know, most of us are over 30, so we’ll have to be fit because it’s a long tournament,” he added with a smile. “It (experience) really counts. Also, when you know what kind of fielding side you are, there is no real point pushing players. There is no point getting injured while trying to stop a single or a double, because the kind of players we have got, they’ll always make it up. Yes, it may hurt us in a few games, but overall, looking at the strength of the side, I feel we’ve got a few good fielders who are very good and they are the ones doing the majority of the work when it comes to boundary fielding. Other than that it has been good so far and we just want to keep the players fit,” the 37-year-old said.

The trend in this IPL has been chasing but in recent games, that trend seems to be changing. For the first time in the tournament, CSK batted first against RR. On the back of Shane Watson’s 106, CSK posted 204 and then went on to restrict RR to just 140. But Dhoni felt that the batsmen like to take that extra pressure of chasing.

“For CSK, whenever we used to play in Chennai we batted first a lot. But yes, the world over, batsmen have realised they love to take that bit of extra pressure and responsibility. But also dew is a factor. Today also there was a bit of dew later on, because I saw the fielders wiping the ball. That is the main reason (for opting to chase). What has happened slowly is that people are getting comfortable either ways. If the wicket is good, and there is no big difference in it in the first innings and the second, I feel not many oppositions will mind batting first or second,” Dhoni said.

One of the talking points ahead of CSK’s first encounter in Pune was the pitch. With CSK line-up filled with spinners, it was going to be interesting to see how the 22-yard surface behaves.

“As far as this wicket is concerned, I was not 100% sure. It was not coming very nicely. The new ball was coming on nicely but after that, there was a bit of variable bounce on the wicket, a bit of spongy bounce. So hitting back of the length was very difficult and that’s what our bowlers did. Often losing the toss is good because you actually come to know what length to bowl if you are batting first. And the batsmen did the job, they put more than what was required on the board and that made the life of our bowlers easy,” the CSK skipper added.

CSK play Sunrisers Hyderabad next on Sunday (April 22) in Hyderabad.

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