Should have read the pitch better, that's the home advantage: Dhoni after Chennai succumb to Mumbai, again

Tags: Indian T20 Cricket 2019, Chennai XI, Mumbai XI, Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Published on: May 08, 2019

Chennai Super Kings once again faltered against Mumbai Indians, this time on the bigger occasion of the Qualifier 1. Despite having the home advantage, Chennai could not stop Mumbai from charging into the final. Their batting was sluggish on a difficult wicket, leaving the bowlers very little to defend.

While skipper MS Dhoni admitted that he was disappointed with the team's effort, he also added that they are lucky to have another shot at the final in Qualifier 2.

“It isn't good to lose games at such times, but it is good that we finished in the top-two. Rather than going over the wicket, we now need to go round the wicket, that means the journey takes a longer time. We finished in the top-two luckily and that gives us a second chance,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

While Dhoni added that the batting was not upto the mark and that they should have adapted better to the conditions, he also felt that Chennai were a bit unlucky at times. “I think we were a bit unlucky at times with the bowling, some balls dropped right in the middle and a few catches were dropped.

“We perhaps had to bowl slightly away from the batsmen, could have bowled with more variations. But we didn't have runs on the board, so every boundary conceded in a 130 defense was bad," he added.

While Dhoni continued his good run with the bat, he could not provide the late flourish this time with lusty blows as Jasprit Bumrah kept things really tight at one end once again.

“Things really didn't go our way, especially out batting. At home, we had to assess the conditions quickly, we have played 6 to 7 games on this pitch and should have read the pitch better, that's the home advantage.

“I think the batting needs to get better. These are the best batsmen we have got, it looks like we are batting well, but at times they play shots that shouldn't be played," Dhoni went on to add.

Chennai Super Kings will meet the winner of the Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match and the winner of that game will face Mumbai in the final on May 12.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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