Mohali, Defending champions Chennai Super Kings was on the receiving end in their last league game of the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) as the MS Dhoni-led side suffered a six-wicket defeat against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the PCA I.S. Bindra Stadium, here on Sunday.
Despite putting up a good 170/5 score batting first, Punjab opener KL Rahul helped the hosts with his blistering 71 off 36 balls cross the line with 12 balls to spare. Dhoni also acknowledged his valuable contribution beside saying his side needed to quickly learn and reassess what went wrong.
Speaking after the match, Dhoni said: “You need to give the credit to them. It was not an easy wicket. With three spinners, it was difficult to manoeuvre in the first six overs.”
Praising Rahul, the Chennai skipper said: “But KL batted really well and was ably supported by Chris Gayle. And then Pooran towards the end was good with his lusty hits. It was a really good batting effort from their side.”
Dhoni said his side tried to deliver their best, but not much worked on Sunday.
“We did whatever we could. But it didn’t work a lot. Quite happy with the way we bowled, despite giving a few runs at the start. That’s something you have to keep in mind. If you can’t win a game, you make sure you get the opposition to garner runs in most number of overs,” the stumper said.
Despite the loss, the Yellow Brigade has advanced to the play-off of the cash-rich league and begin their campaign for the next stage from Tuesday. “You have to quickly adapt, learn and reassess,” Dhoni said.
