IPL 2025, CSK vs RCB: Chennai Super Kings head coach MS Dhoni has worked hard with trainers to keep himself in shape for the ongoing edition of the tournament. On Friday, Dhoni used the long handle to good effect, scoring an unbeaten 30 off 16 balls at the Chepauk.
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00:00Your thoughts on the way you played? Did you expect it to slow down the way it did in the
00:11second inning?
00:12No, we didn't get it right. It's so hard to read, but we thought it was going to skid
00:16on with the dew, but it actually got a bit tacky, so it certainly made it harder, yeah.
00:22And the drop catch is?
00:24Yeah, a couple of half-chances, one or two. It's a real chance. It's just a little bit
00:28clumsy. They came very hard and we had opportunities to really pique them back, but we just let
00:35them off the hook. So a score of 175 would have been more realistic, but we just weren't
00:41good enough.
00:43Another year of IPL, another year of Tony hitting his boundaries and lightning-quick
00:55reflexes. What sets him apart in terms of being match-ready despite limited playing
01:01time?
01:02He's had a substantial pre-season. He's been here well over a month, so he's done a lot
01:07of work with the trainers to get himself into shape. So he's very professional in that
01:14way, and just natural ability.
01:20Was the 195 a target that was too steep on the pitch?
01:30It was far too steep in the end.
01:38But first game, 155, you had to be chased in almost 20 overs. Today, 146. So do you
01:47think, I know this is your way of playing cricket, but do you think it's kind of getting
01:53outdated?
01:54What do you mean, my way of playing? Like winning the first game, that's a good way
02:00to play?
02:01It's the way you have been playing, like the way this 12-member IPL is being played these
02:08days. Do you think maybe the firepower?
02:14We talk about firepower, we have firepower all the way through. I don't understand this
02:18question. Just because we don't swing from ball one and have a little bit of luck go
02:22our way, we'll see at the end. Just see at the end who wins it. It's a positive brand
02:27of cricket, no doubt about it, but don't discount us.
02:30No, no, I'm not discounting you.
02:31Well, you sort of are. It's a silly question.
02:39Why is it that the top order didn't click as a unit? Was that something going through
02:43the wicket? Or was it a factor?
02:49It just bowled well. I think it got a little bit sticky rather than skid on, but Hazlewood
02:54is an excellent new ball bowler when there's a bit of bounce. If you look at the conditions
02:59the last game we played, there wasn't that type of bounce or seam. So, again, we scratch
03:05our heads as to what we're going to get, and we just have to apply ourselves a bit better.
03:09We had some chances, but we were just a bit clumsy in the field.
03:13When CSK has been census full, you've had a very good run at FIPOC. In the last two
03:26years there have been four wins, five home wins, that sort of a thing. Does it make you
03:34put a lot of effort into the home conditions?
03:43Well, I've been telling you for a number of years, there is no home advantage at FIPOC.
03:47We've won away from home a couple of times, and we haven't been able to read the wickets
03:53here for the last couple of years. It's not new. We are trying to come to grips each day
03:58with what we get, and we don't know. This one, maybe four or five seam as you play.
04:03Last one was three to four spinners. We've just got to get better at it, but it's very
04:08difficult when they all look the same. We've said all the way through, we've been very
04:12honest, it's not the chip book where you can just go in and play four spinners. We're having
04:16to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it's
04:21quite different. What we do have to do is apply ourselves better and make sure that
04:26whatever surface we're on, we're in the fight. I don't buy into what's talked about over
04:32there. We've got firepower all the way through. We just have to create the opportunities.
04:36Just because we don't swing from ball one and play with it, a lack of fear factor, we'll
04:42just see what teams end up at the end. Thanks.