IPL 2018: MS Dhoni lambasts bowlers for poor execution following CSK's defeat against RR

Jaipur, May 11: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a man of calm demeanour and the legendary India cricketer is hardly seen venting his frustration out in the open. But the 'Captain Cool' couldn't control his frustration after Chennai Super Kings were defeated by Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League clash on Friday (May 11) here.

MS Dhoni, while talking to commentators after Rajasthan Royals chased down a stiff target of 177 against CSK, was visibly livid with his team's bowling effort. The skipper conceded that his bowlers consistently bowled in the wrong areas and were punished by hosts batsmen.

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Rajasthan required 28 runs from the last twelve balls but CSK couldn't defend those runs as David Willey leaked 16 from the penultimate over and Dwayne Bravo couldn't contain in-form Jos Buttler from scoring 12 from the last over.

Talking after his team's defeat Dhoni lashed out at his bowlers for putting up an ordinary show and there were several occasions on the field when the Ranchi wicketkeeper seemed unhappy with the bowling effort despite giving them suggestions.

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"I think it is the bowling (which hurt us tonight). We had to bowl one particular length and the bowlers were instructed on what they need to bowl and where they need to bowl. That back of the length was a difficult one to hit. We at least got hit 4-5 boundaries off full length. What really happens is once you are told what to bowl, you need to be bowling to that area."

A nail biting finish here in Jaipur as the @rajasthanroyals beat #CSK by 4 wickets in a must win game.#RRvCSK pic.twitter.com/ha9LBtqNUx

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 11, 2018

The 36-year-old didn't mince his words while criticising his bowlers for their lack of execution, "They need to commit and execute. It is not the planning but the execution that goes haywire. That was a par score or a par plus score. I think the bowlers let us down to some extent."

The Ranchi stumper wasn't too happy with his team's fielding effort but conceded that this was the best he could expect from the eleven players he has on the field on the given day.

"Looking at the XI that we have on the field, we did well in the field. We can say we can get better, but with the players we have, this is the best we can get. It is important to start delivering when it comes to the planning part. You just don't want to qualify into the knockout stages, you have to win games. You also need to adjust to what length to bowl and how to bowl."

Fantastic knock by Butler, famous win for Rajasthan. Raises question whether Chennai peaked too early and are running out of steam

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 11, 2018

Jos Buttler played a memorable knock of unbeaten 95 (off 60) to guide Rajasthan to a four-wicket win over CSK and kept his team's play-offs hopes alive.

Earlier, Suresh Raina struck his 34th half-century in IPL as Super Kings posted a competitive 176 for 4 while batting first.

CSK's most consistent performer over the years, Raina struck 52 off 35 balls with the help of six boundaries and a six, adding 86 runs for the second wicket with veteran Shane Watson (39 off 31 balls).

The duo provided the platform for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to launch a final assault smashing 33 off 23 balls in company of Sam Billings (27 off 22 balls). The duo added 55 runs in 6.4 overs to take the team's total past 175-run mark.