Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowling coach Eric Simons praised MS Dhoni after his impressive cameo with the bat in the MI vs CSK match IPL 2024. Eric Simons said that MS Dhoni continues to surprise them even at this age.
MS Dhoni played an outstanding knock during the MI vs CSK clash of IPL 2024. The keeper-batsman came to bat in the last over of the first innings. He smashed three sixes in Hardik Pandya’s last over, capturing 20 runs off his 4 balls.
With 186-4 on the board and just 4 more balls remaining, CSK were expected to pile up below the 200-run mark. However, Dhoni’s cameo helped them reach 206-4 in the end to put pressure on their rivals, Mumbai Indians.
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MS Dhoni continues to surprise us: Eric Simons, CSK coach
During the post-match press conference, CSK bowling coach Eric Simmons praised MS Dhoni’s batting. He said Dhoni continues to surprise the team with his batting power.
“Something very important is the psychological pressure that you put on an opponent when you get to half-time. You go to the locker room and have an over like that, it gives you a huge boost. They were looking to restrict us below 200 and suddenly they were facing 206 with a result like that one. MS Dhoni continues to surprise us,” Simons said.
It was just another incredible MS Dhoni moment: Eric Simons
Simons also highlighted that Dhoni has batted exceptionally well in the nets and it was another incredible moment from Dhoni.
“To come out and hit the first ball like that for six and carry on like he did was exceptional. He has been batting exceptionally well in the nets throughout pre-season and the tournament. It was just another incredible moment from MS Dhoni,” he added.
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Hardik Pandya’s The costly final of 26 runs turned the match in CSK’s favor. They started quite slow in the powerplays but gained momentum with half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad (69) and Shivam Dube (66*).
During the chase, Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten century to Bombay Indians (105*). However, pacer Matheesha Pathirana’s 4 wickets for 28 runs swept the victory in favor of CSK. MI could only reach 186-6 until the end.
Meanwhile, Dhoni has shown incredible batting form in IPL 2024. The CSK legend has scored 59 runs in 4 innings with a fabulous strike rate of 236+. Earlier, he scored an unbeaten 37 off 19 balls in a clash against Delhi Capitals in a losing cause. He hit 20 off 4 balls against MI in the previous match. In the other two games, he was shut out by 1 run.