IPL 2018| CSK needs to sort out its bowling issues, feels MS Dhoni
After the loss to Delhi Daredevils in their IPL clash on Friday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni asserted that his team needs to sort out bowling issues before going to playoffs. The former Indian World-Cup winning captain also clarified that in IPL, players need to be mentally ready rather than physically.
On a sluggish wicket, Delhi Daredevils got the better of Chennai Super Kings, with a convincing 34-run win at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday night. Chasing 163, CSK only managed 128 runs with DD putting up some magnificent bowling display on home turf to delay Chennai's top-two finish.
After being asked to bat first, Daredevils posted a decent 162/5. However, despite a quick 29 ball 50 by Rayudu, CSK could only reach 128 for the loss of six wickets at the end of 20 overs. On a bowling friendly pitch, Chennai were once looking to restrict Delhi under 150 before a quick cameo by Harshal Patel, who scored 26 in last over of the innings bowled by Dwayne Bravo, helped Delhi put up a competitive total.
It was the final over from Bravo made that seemingly made all the difference in the match. Dhoni, in his post-match presentation , admitted that death bowling has been a primary concern for the team and players, who need to be mentally strong for challenges.
"They need to be mentally ready for this than physically. I think apart from that, we are doing well. If we get our death bowling sorted out, it will be very good. Still, have one more game and then into the eliminators (playoffs), so let's see. (On death bowling worries) We'll try to manage it, that's what the reality is," he said.
Despite being in the number 2 position in a highly competitive tournament, Dhoni didn’t hesitate to point out other shortcomings and said that players need to strengthen their weaknesses that they are repeating again and again.
"Keep strengthening what your strengths are, at the same time also strengthen your weaknesses. We also want to improve in certain areas," Dhoni added.
Despite the loss, CSK continued to hold on the second spot on the table with 16 points. With a spot in the top four already assured, CSK has already qualified for the playoffs although a quakifier would be more assuring. Admitting that the CSK batsmen should have done better, Dhoni praised the Delhi bowlers for their performance on Friday.
"I think the wicket slightly got more difficult in the second half. I think it was evident, nobody was middling it well in our innings. Wicket kept getting slower and slower. Their bowlers also bowled really well," he added.
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