NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming praised Mahendra Singh Dhoni's crucial role in a tough loss against the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, highlighting his exceptional game awareness.
Reflecting on Dhoni's pivotal contribution, Fleming remarked, "It was beautiful wasn't it. He has been playing incredibly well pre-season. He is coming back from quite a serious injury. His batting has been superb. It gave us a positive vibe towards the end of a tough day."
He emphasized Dhoni's remarkable return from injury, acknowledging his superb batting that uplifted the team's spirits during a challenging match.
Dhoni's unbeaten 37 off 16 balls narrowed the defeat margin to 20 runs, earning Fleming's praise for its significance.
"To get within 20 (runs of the target) run rate wise is important and he knows that. The way he played was spectacular," Fleming stated at the post-match press conference.
However, Fleming also acknowledged the fair reflection of the team's performance in the loss, attributing it to a slow start and conceding too many runs early on, both while bowling and batting.
"The result today is a fair reflection of the team's play tonight. We were a little bit off tonight, we were slow at start in the first six overs of each innings. We gave away too many runs in the first six when we bowled," Fleming added.
"When we batted, they were very good, created pressure and used the conditions very well. The little cameos from David Warner and Rishabh Pant pushed them to a very good score (191/5)."
Despite the setback, CSK remain optimistic about their prospects in the ongoing IPL season.
1/10:IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals down Chennai Super Kings
PTI
2/10:Rishabh Pant
<p>Rishabh Pant led Delhi Capitals with his first IPL fifty since his comeback from a car crash, guiding them to a 20-run victory over Chennai Super Kings.<br /></p>PTI
3/10:Prithvi Shaw and David Warner
<p>Warner and Prithvi Shaw's opening partnership of 93 set the stage for Delhi before Chennai's bowlers fought back, including Matheesha Pathirana's two strikes in an over.<br /></p>PTI
4/10:David Warner
<p>David Warner's 52 coupled with Captain Pant's 51 off 32 balls, propelled Delhi to 191-5 in Visakhapatnam, their adopted homeground due to the upcoming general elections.<br /></p>PTI
5/10:Matheesha Pathirana
<p>Pathirana, nicknamed "Baby Malinga" for his slinging action and trademark yorkers reminiscent of the former Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga, finished with figures of 3-31.<br /></p>ANI
6/10:Khaleel Ahmed
<p>Khaleel Ahmed claimed the wickets of CSK openers and returned with bowling figures of 2-21 and was named the Man of the Match.</p>PTI
7/10:Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell
<p>Ajinkya Rahane (45) and Daryl Mitchell (34) stitched together a 68-run partnership in their bid to revive the chase. However, after their dismissals, wickets tumbled in quick succession.<br /></p>PTI
8/10:MS Dhoni
<p>In Visakhapatnam, the crowd largely supported CSK, chanting "Dhoni, Dhoni". The former skipper responded with an unbeaten 37 off 16 balls, featuring four fours and three sixes.<br /></p>PTI
9/10:Mukesh Kumar
<p>In his spell of 3 overs, Mukesh Kumar claimed 3 wickets while conceding 21 runs.<br /></p>PTI
10/10:Rishabh Pant
<p>Pant received a standing ovation as he walked off the field, marking his first IPL fifty since 2021 and his return from a car crash involving his Mercedes north of New Delhi in December 2022.<br /></p>ANI(With inputs from PTI)
