We held our nerve: Dhoni

- The Hindu

Bangalore: M.S. Dhoni was in an upbeat mood. When the media officer asked the press corps to raise their hands prior to asking questions here on Monday night, the first hand that shot up was that of the Chennai Super Kings captain! And then with an impish smile, Dhoni gestured to the media to fire away. Having pulled off a 13-run victory over host Royal Challengers Bangalore in the DLF-Indian Premier League match, Dhoni’s expansive mood was understandable.
“We held our nerve. It was a close match but I knew that it was a matter of two wickets to change the course of the game and that’s what happened. In Twenty20 the game changes every three deliveries and I am happy that we won this match.
“There was some swing but when they (Wasim Jaffer and Ross Taylor) were batting well, we were so caught up in controlling the runs, so much so that we didn’t shine the ball for sometime. But finally we did and the ball did swing after 14 overs and it helped us,” Dhoni said.Right decision
On his own belligerent 65 and the omission of Muttiah Muralitharan, Dhoni said: “When I walked in, it was good to see that Michael Hussey was batting well and that helped me a lot to settle down and then play my shots. Royal Challengers did bowl well. The pitch seemed the kind that helped fast bowlers and there was not much in it for the spinners hence we left Murali out of the eleven and I think the way the game shaped up, my assessment was proved right.”
Dhoni also expressed the belief that his team had enough bench strength to tide over the absence of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram in the subsequent matches.
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers skipper Rahul Dravid admitted that his team lost a match that it should have won. “I think we were in contention for a large part of the game but we failed to finish it off. Chennai Super Kings are a good side and have played good cricket all through and held their nerve,” Dravid said.
On Anil Kumble’s absence, Dravid said: “Anil pulled up stiff after the last match hence we couldn’t pick him.”Dhoni intervenes
As the Chennai Super Kings celebrated its victory, ace drummer Sivamani stepped onto the turf and was soon joined by the team’s supporters and cheerleaders. A few security personnel in plain-clothes however stopped Sivamani briefly before Dhoni intervened and asked them to let the drummer in. And then the drum beats echoed on

Dhoni inspires Chennai Super Kings to victory

K.C. Vijay Kumar
— Photo: PTI CASTLED: Bangalore Royal Challengers’ Virat Kohli has his stumps rearranged by Albie Morkel on Monday night.
Bangalore: The Mexican waves vanished in a jiffy as Chennai Super Kings went past Royal Challengers Bangalore’s initial charge, to script a 13-run victory in a DLF-Indian Premier League match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday night.
Chennai Super Kings now has an all-win record in its four matches and has eight points, while Royal Challengers stays at two from four.Aggressive Jaffer
Chasing Chennai Super Kings’ 178, on a day when the rain stayed away, Royal Challengers struck an early vein of aggression through Wasim Jaffer (50, 33b, 5x4, 2x6).
The elegant opener, shed his usual diffidence and unfurled his runs through the aerial route, a flicked six off Joginder being the pick.
Jaffer along with Ross Taylor (53, 34b, 3x4, 3x6) crafted an 89-run second-wicket partnership to keep the home side on course.
However the chase unhinged in despair, after Jaffer holed out in the deep, though Taylor continued to bludgeon, swiping Albie Morkel into the stands past long-on and then scampering for a single that ushered in his fifty.
Kallis and Taylor perished soon, and the required statistics whittled down to 47 runs from 30 deliveries.
Tension mounted after Manpreet Gony scalped Boucher and Royal Challengers skipper Dravid for a blob and Morkel crashed one through Virat Kohli’s stumps. Stranded
And in the final stretch, Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar were found short of breath and stranded outside the creasewhile attacking a galloping asking rate.
With 17 runs required in the last over, the home team lost its spirit and was bowled out for 165 with two balls to spare.
The scores: Chennai Super Kings: (for five wkts. in 20 overs) 178.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: B. Chipli b Gony 8, W. Jaffer c Oram b Amarnath 50, R. Taylor c Raina b Amarnath 53, J. Kallis c Dhoni b Joginder 14, M. Boucher c Hussey b Gony 4, V. Kohli b Morkel 12, R. Dravid lbw b Gony 0, Praveen (run out) 6, Zaheer (run out) 8, B. Akhil (not out) 2, D. Steyn c Hussey b Joginder 1. Extras: (lb-1, w-6) 7. Total: (in 19.4 overs) 165.
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-102, 3-127, 4-132, 5-142, 6-143, 7-149, 8-161, 9-162.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: Oram 4-0-27-0, Gony 4-0-34-3, Morkel 4-0-38-1, Amarnath 4-0-38-2, Joginder 3.4-0-27-1.