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The Chennai Super Kings will aim at returning to winning ways in the Indian Premier League when they meet the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Friday. The CSK faced their first defeat of the 2024 campaign last week against the Delhi Capitals, but one of the glaring positives from the game was Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s blistering cameo with the bat.
Dhoni, who hadn’t batted in the side’s opening two matches, produced an exhibition in power-hitting as he came to bat at no.8 and smashed an unbeaten 37 off just 16 deliveries. Dhoni’s knock triggered the debate on social media over whether the former CSK skipper should be promoted in the batting order, even as it remains likely he will continue to bat at no.8.
But moreover, it’s Dhoni’s contributions behind the stump that have helped the Super Kings significantly – particularly over the past few years. Even as Ruturaj Gaikwad took over the captaincy role this season, Dhoni remains an important presence on the field and has been seen guiding the new skipper on many occasions throughout the side’s matches. And SRH’s captain, Pat Cummins, believes that it wouldn’t be prudent to try to outsmart the legendary Dhoni when the two sides meet on Friday.
“My main job as a captain is to get the best out of our guys, so obviously, you look at the opposition little bit and see what they’re doing, but I don’t think I’m gonna try and outsmart someone like MSD, you try and play your best, try to bring the best out of the guys, and hopefully it works,” Cummins told Star Sports.
The 2023 World Cup-winning Australian captain further stated that the couple of losses in the first three games of the season haven’t put the side on the backfoot, and will aim at accumulating the much-needed two points against the CSK.
“Whatever team you’re playing in, whether you’re captain, player or whatever it is. There’s always huge expectation; we know how passionate the fans are, and it’s great to see them turn up to the ground and it’s packed out. So nothing new, we’re going to be trying our best; T20s, it’s a hard format, you have some amazing wins and also have some tough losses, but we’re giving it our best shot and desperately trying to win this IPL,” added the 2023 World Cup winning captain.
CSK face SRH challenge
CSK are currently third in the league table with four points, while the Sunrisers, with a win in three matches, are seventh. Despite a poor standing in the league, the SRH have been impressive with the bat, breaching the 200-run mark twice in this season. They also broke the record for highest runs scored in a single IPL innings last week, smashing 277 against the Mumbai Indians.
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