‘Bat wants an old Dhoni’: Twitterati reacts to CSK skipper’s ‘slow innings’ against SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad secured their second win of this IPL season after a thrilling seven-run victory against Chennai Super Kings on Friday.  

CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who finally promoted himself to the fifth position in the batting order, wove a formidable 72-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja adding 34-ball 50. 

Chasing a score of 165, Dhoni remained not out on 47 off 36 deliveries. As much as it can be argued that it was the former Indian captain who brought the Chennai outfit anywhere close to the target, at one point it was also Dhoni’s noticeably slow strike-rate that was holding CSK back. 

At the end of the 18th over, Dhoni was at 24 off 27 balls even though even though the Chennai side was scoring far behind the required run-rate.

Fans of the game as well as the player took to social media to let their opinion known. 

While one account blamed the CSK skipper for trying to take the game too deep and in turn making the chase impossible, another suggested that the Ranchi-born should have given more strike to England all-rounder Sam Curran.

Not in a clear indication to MS Dhoni, however, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted: “Finding many batsmen guilty of playing in 3rd gear for far too long and leaving themselves too much to get in the end. They must not forget that in the end is also where the quality bowlers are lurking.”

Another Twitter handle tagged Dhoni as “a slow starter for quite a while now”. 

During the closing stages of the match, Dhoni looked visibly tired and even had a break during the 19th over of the innings, as he struggled after running successive twos with Curran.

However, the fans of ‘Thala’, as he is lovingly called by the CSK faithfuls, are hoping for the veteran cricket to turn it around for himself and the team. 

“It was tough to watch MS Dhoni feel the tiredness in the field – this has been one of the toughest faces Dhoni has faced. Come back stronger,” one account posted.

Some fans hailed the 39-year-old’s “dedication towards goals even if they are very difficult to achieve”.

With this loss, the three-time IPL champion remains dead bottom on the IPL 2020 table with just two points after four matches.