Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has given a stern warning to his bowlers to cut down on the number of no-balls and wides in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) matches if they keep giving away runs easily to the opposition. Then they will have to play under the new captain.
Dhoni’s warning came after Chennai Super Kings’ 12-run win against Lucknow Supergiants on Monday.
The wicket-keeper batsman was unhappy with the fact that his bowlers conceded three no-balls and 13 wides in the match which helped Lucknow reach 205 for seven in their chase of 218.
The Chennai team had four wides and two no-balls in their first match against defending champions Gujarat Titans. Dhoni’s team lost by five wickets in that match. Young fast bowler Rajvardhan Hangargekar had three wides and a no ball in that match. On Monday, he took three wides against Lucknow.
Another Chennai fast bowler Tushar Deshpande took two wickets on Monday but in between he had four wides and three no-balls. Veteran fast bowler Deepak Chahar also conceded five extra runs via wide on Monday.
Dhoni said after the match, “He will not have to bowl a single no ball and will have to bowl fewer wides.” We are bowling too many extra balls and we need to cut them down otherwise they will have to play under a new captain.”
Dhoni said he was surprised to see the Chepauk pitch which yielded a lot of runs on Monday.
He said, “It was a great match in which a lot of runs were scored. We were all wondering what the wicket would be like. We suspected it. Lots of runs scored in this match. Overall, matches were played here in five or six years and the stadium was full. It was a great match.
Dhoni said, “I thought the pitch would be slow. It will be a wicket in which you can score runs but it will also be slow. We will have to see how the pitch behaves in the next six home matches but hopefully we will get a good score here.
Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul said that the bowlers could not perform properly and his team had to bear the brunt.
Rahul said, “After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, the start was not ideal. The bowlers were getting help from the pitch but they could not bowl in the right direction. When the opposition team has the best batsmen, it has to bear the brunt. Devon Conway and Ruturaj batted well but we have to learn from this defeat and move forward.
He said, “Giving 70 runs in six overs cost us dearly. I cannot give any single reason for the defeat, but we did not capitalize on the opportunities in the match and the match slipped out of our hands.
