MS Dhoni has been known as “Captain Cool” as the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) captain. However, on Thursday night, even the Indian great lost his cool. Rajasthan Royals, led by Sanju Samson, beat CSK for the second time in the IPL 2023 season. This time, CSK lost by 32 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, and MS Dhoni’s team fell to second place on the points table.
Dhoni said after the game that the Royals’ score in Jaipur was well above average. The CSK captain lost it when young Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana got in the way of his throw in the 16th over of the first test.
Shimron Hetmyer of the Royals was facing a bowl from Pathirana. The southpaw for the West Indies misread a slower ball that hit him in the body and went straight behind the stumps to CSK captain and wicketkeeper Dhoni. The hitter tried to run, but Dhoni caught the ball and threw it straight to the bowler’s stumps.
But since Pathirana was in the middle, the ball bounced off him and didn’t hit the stumps. Pathirana made Dhoni very angry, and Dhoni was seen yelling at the young man.
After the game, Dhoni quickly praised Sri Lankan “slinger” Pathirana, who bowled at speeds of up to 151 kph against the Royals. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan didn’t get any outs and gave up 48 runs in his four overs.
“I thought (Pathirana’s) bowling was outstanding; I didn’t think it was bad.” “The scorecard doesn’t show how well he bowled,” said Dhoni at the presentation after the game.
When asked about the goal, Dhoni said it was a bit too high because they lost too many runs in the first six overs. Even though the record doesn’t show it, the CSK captain also said that Pathirana didn’t bowl badly.
“It (the goal) was a bit better than average. The first six overs let too many runs through, but at the same time, that was the best time to bat on the pitch. Even though they were almost done, the edges kept going for the edges. “They did better than par, and we couldn’t stop the runs,” Dhoni said.
