Chennai, Sept 29 (IANS) A relieved Mahendra Singh Dhoni, skipper of the Chennai Super Kings, said his team’s bowling in the last four overs contributed hugely to the four-wicket win against the Nashua Cape Cobras in the Champions League T20 tournament, here Wednesday.
The Super Kings won by four wickets in a tense finish and two balls to spare after restricting the Cobras to 145 although the South African champions looked certain to post a 160-plus total.
‘Bowling has never been our strength, but we have always come back strongly. Today, we bowled well in the last four overs to restrict Cobras,’ said Dhoni after the game.
‘It was an important game for us and now that we have won, we are all evenly placed,’ pointed out Dhoni with reference to Super Kings, New South Wales and Cobras all being on two points, behind Mumbai Indians who are on four.
Regarding the rather shaky chase that gained momentum only after Dwayne Bravo came in and blasted a 25-ball 46 not out, Dhoni said the batsmen committed a mistake by not looking for singles.
‘I thought we did not rotate strike enough today. We were more intent on the big shots and lost wickets,’ he added.
Cobras skipper Justin Kemp opined that his team poor batting in the last four overs cost them the match and though Jean-Paul Duminy bowled well to claim four for 20, the Super Kings had a stronger batting line-up to chase down the target.
‘We hoped to score a few more, but we didn’t bat well in the last four or five overs. The Super Kings bowled well, but still, I thought our total was very competitive considering that we had three genuine spinners,’ said Kemp.
Man of the Match Bravo said: ‘It was a lot of hard work out there. I basically backed myself and my captain Dhoni. We stayed calm and knew that one big over could change the game.
‘Dale Steyn bowled one bad ball (in the 18th over) and thereafter we managed to get the runs,’ said Bravo.
Regarding his bowling performance that saw him take two crucial wickets, Bravo said: ‘Working with our bowling coach Andy Bichel, I changed my action a bit and I hope to pick up the momentum as we go further into the tournament.’
