Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowling coach Eric Simons believes that MS Dhoni’s 20-run cameo in the final over during the first El Clasico of the season at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (April 14) had a psychological impact on Mumbai Indians.

Dhoni came to bat after Daryl Mitchell’s dismissal when CSK was not even close to the 200-run mark on a flat pitch in Mumbai. He successfully changed the game with his effective batting, enabling Hardik Pandya to hit a hat-trick of sixes. In the end, with two runs needed off the last ball, Dhoni played a victorious innings.

This is such an important thing, when you take a break, you put psychological pressure on the opposition. You go into the change room and have this kind of power, which gives you tremendous momentum. They were trying to hold us under 200, and suddenly they had to face 206 runs in one over. Simmons said in the post-match press conference, “MS Dhoni keeps surprising us.”

Simmons praised Dhoni by saying that throughout his entire career, including the pre-season camp, he was hitting the white ball with precision.

“He displayed an extraordinary ability to hit a six on the first ball like that and to continue it throughout the pre-season and the entire tournament was exceptional. It was another incredible moment from MS Dhoni.”

The CSK coach revealed that due to Dhoni’s skill in death overs, the management planned to utilize batting patterns of those bowlers responsible for finishing matches when making strategies.

Simmons said, “We can test our principles against him, and we know we’re going to perform well.”

CSK with the away win

Until now, CSK hadn’t won any championship in the tournament, but their five-time champion status came with smart strategies, which successfully undermined MI’s dominance.

Despite posting a strong target, M.I. Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma were in search of making 63 runs in the first six overs. However, Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad orchestrated his game plan with the CSK bowlers, forcing M.I. batsmen to take risks in hitting across the long stretches of the park.

IPL 2024: After MS Dhoni’s stormy innings, Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians in their own den.

The plan worked wonders as Mathiesha Pathirana’s four-fer completely dismantled M.I.’s middle-order batting lineup. Sharma fought a lone battle, smashing a magnificent eighth century of his T20 career, but none of the other batsmen could step up to support him.