Could have scored more: Dhoni and Fleming

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming said that the home team could have posted an even bigger total in the four-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League 2023 here on Sunday, given the flying start provided by Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Batting first, Chennai managed 54 runs off the last five overs to finish at 200 for four, a total that could not be defended. “Maybe, in the last few overs, when we were batting, we could have got another 10 more runs. We were in a position to get those extra 10-15 runs,” said Dhoni after the end of the thrilling match.

On his part, Fleming, in the post-match press conference, said: “We probably could have got a few more. The last four [overs] were not as productive as we would have liked. But, any time you cross 200, you are well and truly in the game. The ‘Impact Player’ rule has pushed totals up a little bit, but it was still a very competitive score.”

Dhoni also said that the bowling unit could have done much better in the business end of the match. Tushar Deshpande leaked 33 runs off his last two overs, allowing Punjab to inch closer to victory.

“If I take those one or two overs, those were really bad overs, I think 200 was [the] par score. We know the conditions well and we needed to bowl the right lengths. A few times we did not bowl the right lengths,” said Dhoni.