“He is someone who can hit cleanly”: MS Dhoni on Shivam Dube at the post match interview

While it first appeared that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) could find it difficult to compete in the chase after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scored 226/6 in a furious innings while batting first, they gave the four-time winners a serious scare and came within eight runs of the target. The third wicket stand between captain Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell was sensational, putting the target firmly within reach for the hosts. Before Maxwell finally fell on 76 off 36 balls, the pair hammered the ball to all corners of the ground. In just 61 balls, he and Du Plessis’ partnership scored a staggering 126 runs.

Eventually, Du Plessis was out for 62 off 33, but RCB were still in the hunt. Dinesh Karthik arrived to the party and hit 28 off 14 balls. After his dismissal, CSK began to have a realistic chance of winning. In the end, they had to hold off 19 runs in the final over and won by eight runs, although RCB scored 218/8 and still lost the T20 encounter.

Dhoni speaks at the post match interview

Dhoni after the match said that the Bangalore wicket is always good and has dew. He said that the pitch was tacky at the start. 

“When you come to Bangalore, it’s a good wicket. Early part of IPL you get a lot of dew. You want to start well and then alter whatever is there in your mind. It was slightly tacky at the start. It’s important to go through that and then look to accelerate. We kept it simple and tried to as much as possible in the second half of the innings.”

Speaking about Shivam Dube, Dhoni said that he is a clean hitter of the ball. Although he struggles against fast bowlers, the Mumbai batter can take down the spinners.

Speaking about Dube, Dhoni said, “He is someone who can hit cleanly. He has an issue with the fast bowlers but he’s a clean hitter against the spinners. We had certain plans for him. We feel he’s someone he can deliver. He needs to believe in that more than us.”

In the end, MS Dhoni talked about Death bowling, how difficult it is for the youngsters and how Bravo is looking after them.

“I keep assessing from behind the wicket, I am always involved in what needs to be done rather than thinking about the result. (Death overs) It is a difficult one for the youngsters. But they are working hard. Bravo is one of the specialists. Under him, the bowlers will gain confidence. It’s a team game. The coach, the bowling coach and the senior players guide them.”

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