MS Dhoni is a joy to watch when he goes about finishing an innings – never flustered, never worried, always in control. The Chennai Super Kings skipper was supreme in the final overs yet again, leading his side to a five-wicket victory over the Rajasthan Royals in their IPL 2014 match in Ranchi.
Chasing 149 for victory, CSK stumbled a little in the middle overs, before Dhoni added his astute finishing touches as the Super Kings finished on 149 for five in 19.4 overs.
"We didn't want it to go down to the end but they bowled really well in the last three overs," Dhoni, who kept himself at No.6, promoting R Ashwin up the order, said during the presentation ceremony.
"The effort was good overall, on a wicket like this I don't feel you should go for more than 12 runs and we did that a couple of times which put extra pressure on us.
"Ravi Ashwin is taking more responsibility and that's why we promoted him up the order. It's fantastic to get the win back in my home town, the fans are amazing here."
CSK's win takes them to the top of the table with eight wins in ten matches, with Kings XI in second having played a game less.
The Royals could have equalled CSK's points tally with a victory, but the loss means they remain third on 12 points, four behind the leaders.
RR skipper Shane Watson, who scored a typically powerful half-century in the first innings, after opening the batting, felt his side had got an above-par score on the slow wicket, but admitted Dhoni, and his finishing prowess, was the difference yet again.
"I thought we had a score just above par on this wicket, but MS Dhoni has being doing this all his career," Watson said. "We put in a really good performance against Chennai, we fought right to the end but unfortunately they got over the line."
