After Thursday’s thrilling win over
Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium, Chennai Super Kings captain Ravindra
Jadeja was all praise of his predecessor MS Dhoni, who at 40 reminisced to us
about his vintage ability to finish off matches in prolific style.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Vintage MS Dhoni pulls off thrilling finish as CSK beat MI by 3 wickets

“We were very tense the way game was
going. But the great finisher of the game was still there, so we knew we had a
chance. He’s still here and doing it for us,” said Jadeja at the post-match
presentation ceremony.

Close game, thrilling win

Chasing a 156 runs target, CSK made a
slow start with Ambati Rayudu scoring 40 off 35 balls and Robin Uthappa 30 off
25 balls. So in the end, it turned out to be a close game, with CSK needing 17
off 6 balls off the 20th over, bowled by Jaydev Unadkat.

Also Read: Dhoni sets up Pollard with straightish fielder, ploy from 2010, 2017 IPL works | Watch

In the first ball, Dwaine Pretorius, who
scored 22 off 14 balls, was trapped in front and removed. In the second ball,
Dwayne Bravo gave the strike of Dhoni taking a single. Dhoni smashed a six and
a four to revive CSK’s hope in the match. In the fifth ball, the 40-year-old
former captain took a double shuttling between the wicket to make it four for a
win in the final ball of the match. Dhoni was eventually successful as he hit
Unadkat for a four to win CSK their second match of IPL 2022.

Dhoni was unbeaten on 28 off 13 balls.
He hit three boundaries and a six to finish off things in his own vintage
fashion at a strike rate of 215.38.

Also Read: Jadeja drops a catch, Dhoni misses stumping: CSK vs MI starts in chaos

Asked about medium-pacer Mukesh Choudhary,
who ripped apart Mumbai Indians’s top order by removing Rohit Sharma and Ishan
Kishan in the very first over and then in the third over got the prized scalp
of Dewald Brevis, Jadeja credited him for bowling well in front of experienced
batter in the PowerPlay.

“Yes, he (Mukesh) has bowled well
upfront and done well for us in the powerplay. If you aren’t winning games, you
still want to be calm.”

‘Never thought of playing cricket’ –
Mukesh Choudhary

Talking about his Man of the Match
award-winning performance, Mukesh said, “I never thought I would play cricket.
Was at boarding school in Pune, we had an hour’s sports period and I used to
play all kinds of sports there. Tried playing cricket and seemed to be good at
it. Have to bowl well in the powerplay where I’m supposed to bowl three overs.
There is no pressure actually, to play with such big players around you
automatically takes all the pressure away. I just want to have a good time and
enjoy myself.”

Also Read: Day of drops: Chennai Super Kings miss four catches vs Mumbai Indians

Meanwhile, asked about dropped catches
– CSK dropped four catches Thursday, including Jadeja’s two – the all-rounder
said, “It happens, that’s why I never take fielding for granted and practise
hard. We need to work on our fielding, can’t afford to drop catches.”

Despite the win, CSK remain 9th on the
points ladder with four points in seven matches.