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Captain MS Dhoni took the fall for Chennai Super Kings, surrendering to a narrow 2-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a jaw-dropping thriller at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja had the task of piling up 15 runs from the final over to steer past the finish line. But Yash Dayal's searing yorkers derailed their hopes. Dhoni's attempt to finish ended on a bitter note after he got trapped in front of the stumps on a low full toss. Shivam Dube smoked the ball into the stands on a no-ball to bring the equation down to six needed from three. In the end, Chennai stood one boundary away from robbing Royal Challengers Bengaluru of two points. But Dayal, a 'death over specialist', delivered a pinpoint low full toss to lift the hosts to victory with nerves of steel. After the game, Dhoni made an honest admission and conceded that he should have converted a couple of those shots to ease the pressure off CSK's shoulders. "When I went into bat, with the kind of deliveries and the runs needed, I felt I should've converted a couple more shots to ease the pressure. I take the blame," Dhoni said after the match. Royal Challengers slowed down in the first innings after Virat Kohli (62) and Jacob Bethell's (55) blistering displays concluded. With two overs left, RCB threadbare at 159/5, Romario Shepherd unleashed a fusillade of boundaries and walloped to an unbeaten 53 from 14 deliveries, the second-fastest in the cash-rich league history, lifting the hosts to an imposing 213/5. Dhoni reflected on the brutal onslaught from "brilliant" Shepherd and felt that if they had executed more yorkers, the chances of getting struck towards the boundary rope would have greatly reduced. "They got off to a good start, and in between, we pulled it back, but Romario Shepherd was brilliant. Whatever the bowlers bowled, he was able to get maximum runs. We need to practice more yorkers. More often than not, when the batters start to connect, you have to rely on yorkers," he said. "Also, the margin of error (yorkers provide), so if you're looking for a perfect yorker, if that doesn't happen, a low full toss is the next best thing. It's one of the most difficult balls to hit. Somebody like Pathirana, if the yorker isn't happening, he has got pace. He can bowl the bouncer and keep the batter guessing," he added. A significant factor behind Bengaluru's narrow escape was the scorching yorker execution in the death. Chennai's inability to convert low full toss and yorker length deliveries into boundaries left them dangling for runs. Dhoni emphasised the need to infuse paddle shots and other variations in the new era as a way out of such a situation. "At times, if he's looking for yorkers, batters are looking to line it up, and if he misses, batters have a chance of hitting. It can be used, but not all batters are comfortable playing it (the scoop). If it comes naturally, then definitely. If not, it becomes difficult. It is something you need to practice in the new era. Most of our batters don't play the paddle shot. Jaddu plays it, but he's more comfortable down the ground, so he was backing his strength," Dhoni said. Despite their shortcomings towards the end, Dhoni gave credit to 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who kept CSK alive in the chase with his blistering 94(48) and felt that as a collective batting unit, they performed well. "He played well. Batting was an area where we were slightly behind. But today, as a department, I feel the batting did very well," he concluded. (ANI)
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