IPL 2019 | MS Dhoni might play the next game, says Suresh Raina

IPL 2019 | MS Dhoni might play the next game, says Suresh Raina

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Suresh Raina has stated that MS Dhoni might play the next game after missing Tuesday’s game due to stiffness in his back. Suresh Raina was made the stand-in skipper of Chennai Super Kings, and the same may continue for the next match if the regular skipper fails to get fit in time.

In Tuesday’s encounter between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, the crowd had emerged in large numbers with even support for both the home and the away team. MS Dhoni, the regular skipper was seen warming up and playing football as usual before Suresh Raina turned up for the toss leaving the fans disappointed, who learned that Dhoni was not available due to a stiff back. 

However, the stand-in skipper Suresh Raina, at the post-match presentation ceremony, stated that Dhoni was feeling better and might be playing the next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on April 21. “He (MS Dhoni) is feeling better. His back was stiff. Probably he will play in the next game against RCB,” said Suresh Raina, reported PTI.

CSK had won the toss and opted to bat first, but none of the batsmen were able to capitalize after a brisk start of 70 for none in nine overs. The three-time champions only posted 132 on the board, and SRH chased that down in under 17 overs despite a few stutters in the end. Prior to this, CSK had won seven of their eight matches, and Raina felt that this would serve as a wake-up call.

“I think it is a very good wake up call. I think we didn't put a decent score on the board and kept losing wickets,” he remarked.

CSK were comfortably placed at 79 for none in 9.4 overs before they lost both their openers, Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson in a matter of three balls and failed to get going thereafter. Raina was looking extremely uncomfortable against Rashid Khan and was dismissed in the 14th over, followed by Kedar Jadhav in the very same over.

Sam Billings got out for a duck in the next over by Khaleel Ahmed. While Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja held on to their wickets they hardly contributed to the scoreboard, managing 30 runs in the final five overs. The skipper rued the missed chances and acknowledged that they were 30 runs short.

“Faf and Watson gave us a good start but we could not capitalize. We lost too many wickets in between and that's why it cost us the game. We should have looked for partnerships and should have rotated our strike better. Hence, we were 30 runs short,” the 32-year-old explained.

The opening duo of SRH, David Warner, and Jonny Bairstow were once again the architects of the team’s batting and took the pair of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar to the cleaners. Veteran spinner Imran Tahir was also blasted for 14 runs in his first over before he made a strong comeback with a wicket of Kane Williamson giving away just six runs with another wicket in his next three overs. The South African leg spinner has 15 wickets in nine matches so far, and Raina also shared as to how he has been delivering time and again for the side.

“He has been giving us breakthroughs. You just throw the ball to him and he delivers. He has been bowling really well. As long as senior players are there, you just need to do well as a unit,” Raina signed off.

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