Virender Sehwag hails MS Dhoni after CSK's win: His 'captaincy' was spot on
Virender Sehwag hails MS Dhoni after CSK’s win
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag hailed MS Dhoni, saying his captaincy was "spot on" against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Sunday. Despite having a terrible start, Dhoni's CSK got the better of MI and won the match by 20 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
CSK lost as many as four wickets in the powerplay overs after Dhoni opted to bat as the second leg of the IPL 2021. Riding on Ruturaj Gaikwad's 88, the Men in Yellow recovered and posted 156 for 6 in 20 overs. They defended the total by restricting the reigning champions MI at 136 for 8 in 20 overs and climbed to the top of the IPL 2021 points table.
"MS Dhoni's captaincy was spot on, no doubt about that. He doesn't plan before the game. He observes the things on the field and takes call accordingly. He watches the opposition batsmen and deploys a bowling attack according to that. He anticipates in such a way that if a batter is comfortable against pace, he brings in a spinner and vice-versa.
The best example was when he set the field for Dwayne Bravo. Four fielders were inside the circle to stop singles and generate the possibilities of a wicket. And that's how they got rid of Ishan Kishan. Indeed, he's a good captain but, his bowlers bowl according to the field setup. If anybody has the sharpest brain in this league, it's MS Dhoni," Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
CSK now have six wins from eight matches and will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday (Sept. 24) in Sharjah.
Sehwag also pointed out that MI lost track following the dismissal of Kieron Pollard, who was Mumbai's stand-in captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma.
"For me the turning point was bringing in Josh Hazlewood against Kieron Pollard. Because he knew, if he gets a spinner to bowl, Pollard won't spare the bowler. So, I think, the game changed from there," Sehwag concluded.
Meanwhile, MI's next match is against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday (Sept. 23) in Abu Dhabi.