Ahmedabad: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has the onerous task of lifting his side after they suffered their fourth straight defeat on Sunday. Speaking to the media after the loss to Rajasthan Royals, Dhoni admitted it would not be easy.
Excerpts:
On the loss:
Well I think every game is important so I think I am more worried about the performance of the side rather than thinking about what will happen after 14 games at the end of the league stage because I think we need to get our act right. We need to improve in every department and you can say there is a big task ahead of us.
On the reasons for defeat:
Well if it was one reason we would have rectified it. The problem is, you know, what really happens in cricket [is that] if one of your departments is not doing well, the pressure gets transferred to other departments and in a Twenty20 game you end up on 150 instead of chasing (a score) those 170 or 180 (it makes a huge difference). You can imagine those 20 runs you have to accommodate in those 20 overs only, so the margin becomes really big and the pressure, you can say, starts showing on other departments.
On the imminent arrival of Mike Hussey and Doug Bollinger:
We will have one fast bowler who can bowl really quick, who can push the batsmen onto the back foot, and you can say a really dependable batsman, because if you see we have made quite a few changes but nothing really is working for us. You tend to make a few changes and some of the players have not got a chance and you tend to make a place permanent in the side, and that is what is expected, but it is not really happening for us so we are ending up doing more and more changes just hoping we settle with one side but we keep on changing. Of course in the first few games when Justin Kemp was in the side it was quite a balanced side but after that he got injured. I think most of our all-rounders whom we are trying to play are getting injured, so we are not really able to get a fixed 11 who will play most of the games.
On where they lost the game:
Well, I think frankly speaking 170 or 175 would have been difficult to chase unless you got off to a very good start because we all know the wicket over here gets slower and slower as the game progresses. If you see the wicket before the first delivery, and at the end of the 20th over, it looks like a different track and definitely got slower and slower, the ball was not really coming onto the bat so strokemaking becomes difficult. So you have to keep in mind what will really happen after 20 overs. I think maybe 15 runs less would have been a good target to chase.
On the middle-order batting not clicking:
Well you can say so but if you see we have scored 180-plus scores but we have not really been able to defend that. So I think that all the three departments [are not working properly], it’s not only about batting or bowling we are not fielding well also. Pressure is put on our boundary fielders, they [opposition batsmen] are able to take two, so I think overall it really matters because change of strike happens and the new batsman can hit you for a six. So I think it’s a mixture of everything and it is about winning a few games because if you win a few games then the confidence of the guys comes back and all of a sudden you become a totally different side.
On bowlers coming to terms with Twenty20:
Well of course on slower tracks you have plenty of options. You get the reverse swing going in 20 overs because the wicket is quite dry and the ball gets scuffed up and then you have the option of bowling bouncers, slower bouncers, yorkers, there are more deliveries. I think the problem is [that] when you are playing on a flat track and a lush green outfield reverse swing doesn’t really happen, the ball comes on nicely to the bat. I think every side has got a few big hitters who make the most out of those kind of games. But more often than not if you get these kind of wickets I think bowlers who can vary their pace and who are quite consistent with their line and length will be more successful. But I feel everybody tries to bowl slower ones and bouncers but the successful ones are the bowlers who alter their length according to their delivery.
