IPL 2018 | MS Dhoni reveals Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar were sent up the order to disrupt KXIP plans

05/21/2018

MS Dhoni, who shocked everyone by sending Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar up the order, revealed that the change in batting lineup was to catch Kings XI Punjab off-guard and disrupt their plans. Dhoni insisted that Chennai Super Kings have done the process right which has resulted in good results.

The two-year absence from IPL has hardly affected CSK and they have managed to storm into the play-offs of the ongoing season. With this feat, they have kept their record intact of qualifying to the play-offs in every season of the IPL they have participated in. MS Dhoni credited this success of the franchise to the processes that have put in place for them.

CSK, who have qualified at the second spot this season, would be playing Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday in Qualifier 1 and skipper insisted that in order to obtain the desired result, the processes must be in place again.

“We have a set of people who are very close to the players that makes it very easy for the captain. Also, we have a really good team. Right from the first edition, we kept adding players and they kept performing – Ashwin, Bollinger, Mohit. The big challenge will be in two years when most of the players won’t be around. We like to do the process right because that’s what gives you the result,” Dhoni said as quoted by India Today.

“I remember the finals, where it went wrong: you need to remember where it went wrong. On that particular day you have to be at the best because everyone wants to win. All of those things matter,” he said.

In the final league match, CSK easily chased down the target of 154 runs against Kings XI Punjab with 5 wickets in hand. While chasing, Dhoni surprised everyone by sending Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar up the order. After the match, Dhoni revealed that the change in batting lineup was to disrupt the plans of KXIP bowlers. He explained that the bowlers have a tendency of not sticking to their stock bowl and they bowl experimental deliveries to tail-enders.

“If you see the bowling line up it was swinging a bit. In a game like this you want to take a lot of wickets while it is swinging. So with Bhajji and Chahar going in – it creates a bit of chaos. With proper batsmen the bowlers are consistent, somehow to lower order players they try the bouncers, off-cutters, etc.” Dhoni explained.

Meanwhile, losing captain, R Ashwin was understandably disappointed with his team’s performance and stated that they were neither good with the bowl nor with the bat. He felt that they were 20-30 short of the par score.

“Few tough days at the office now. We didn’t bat well, we lost too many wickets early. Karun batted well but we were 20-30 below par. We put down a catch – that’s been our story,” Ashwin said.

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