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Following his side's six-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni expressed happiness with performances of batter Shivam Dube this season, saying that he has done a great job for the side in middle overs by getting some crucial runs.
Crucial Fifties from Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana kept Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) playoffs hope alive as they registered 6 wickets victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match here at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. "Well we have spoken a lot (He and Shivam Dube), it should remain in the dressing room what we spoke to him. What are the areas he needs to work on. Very happy with the way he has done and it is important for him to keep continuing game after game and not get satisfied with what he has done. He has done that job for us in the middle overs to get us as many runs as possible. So I just wish him that he keeps continuing," said Dhoni in a post-match presentation. Dube is enjoying his best IPL season so far. In 13 matches and 11 innings, he has scored 363 runs at an average of 40.33 and a strike rate of 157.14. He has also scored three fifties, with best score of 52. "(On Deepak Chahar) He is somebody who swings the ball and has a fair idea of the game, where to keep the fielders and he bowls accordingly. He is definitely an asset. At times... I feel now he is very experienced to realize at times that if it is not swinging what is the length to bowl. Because in games where you do not have too many runs on the board, you have to get slightly smart.. once you know it is not swinging (for him), it will not swing for anyone," added Dhoni. Chahar is having a decent IPL season so far, which saw him miss a few matches due to injuries. He has a total of seven wickets in seven matches. CSK opted to bat first and were restricted to 144/ in their 20 overs. Solid knocks came from Shivam Dube (48* in 34 balls), Devon Conway (30 in 28 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (20). There was a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Dube and Jadeja. Sunil Narine was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, taking 2/15 in his four overs. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2/36) also got a couple of wickets. Vaibhav Arora and Shardul Thakur got a wicket each. In the chase of 145, KKR was once at 33/3. Then a 99-run stand between skipper Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh took place, which brought back KKR into the game. Nitish slammed an unbeaten 57 in 44 balls, consisting of six fours and a six while Rinku scored 54 off 43 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes. KKR chased down the total in 18.3 overs with six wickets in hand. Deepak Chahar (3/27) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK and did initial damage to KKR's top order. CSK is in the second position with seven wins, five losses and one no result. They have a total of 15 points. KKR is at seventh with six wins, seven losses and 12 points in total. Rinku was given the 'Player of the Match' for his fifty. (ANI)
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