MS Dhoni's 6-ball 18 made Chennai Super Kings dressing room emotional, says Fleming

Dubai, October 11: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming revealed MS Dhoni's innings on Sunday (October 10) against the Delhi Capitals in the first Qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) was very emotional for the team's dressing room.

The CSK defeated Delhi Capitals by four wickets in Qualifier 1 as Dhoni returned to form with a much needed 18 off six balls.

"It was emotionally great for us. We know the pressure that he has and the expectation that there is on him and again he came triumph for us. So, it was emotional in the dressing room," Fleming said in the post-match press conference while talking about Dhoni's innings.

"He is a world-class player and he may come out no. 5 in the final, we know how good he is but we are also trying to utilise our other resources well," was Fleming's explanation of the rationale behind the tactical call of changing Ravindra Jadeja' batting order during the Qualifier 1.

"It's not always right, it's not always wrong. It's trying to get a gut feel on where players could make maximum impact," he added.

"It was a really positive move, what we were trying was to really get ahead of the game. Robbie (Robin Uthappa) was struggling a little bit, and he had an aggressive role and we wanted to continue that.

Take some pressure off Ruturaj, and instead we get 15 to 20 runs in quick time and it will help in the back end of the game. It didn't pay off but the thinking is positive and in line with how we want to play the game," said Fleming while talking about Shardul Thakur coming into number four in the batting order.

Fleming too admitted that the decision was made over the course of a lot of discussions with Dhoni right through the chase.

"We had a lot of chat, I think we spoke more in these 20 overs than we have in a long time," said Fleming and added, "There was a lot of technical discussion and just trying to work out how this was going to unfold, who was going to make maximum impact.

But I tell you what when the captain gets that look in his eye and says 'I'll go'.... there has been well documented times when he has done that. And today was one of that. And so, I was not holding him back, and we saw the result of that."

On-field, in the last two overs, CSK needed 24 runs but Avesh Khan dismissed set batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad on the first ball of the 19th over. Dhoni whacked a six and match came down to 13 needed off the last six balls.

In the final over, Tom Curran removed Moeen Ali but Dhoni held the nerves and smashed three fours to seal the CSK's spot in the summit clash for the ninth time.

Dhoni relieved

Dhoni, the CSK captain, said he played a "crucial" knock but admitted that he was out of form in the IPL 2021 so far.

CSK defeated Delhi Capitals by four wickets in Qualifier 1 as Dhoni returned to form with a much needed 18 off six balls.

"My innings was a crucial one. Delhi has a very good bowling attack. They exploited the conditions well, so we knew it would be tough. I've not done a lot in the tournament, so wanted to look for the ball and see what the bowler can do," said Dhoni during the post-match presentation.

"I was batting well in the nets. But wasn't thinking too much, if you think too much while batting then you mess your plans up," he added.

Speaking about promoting Shardul Thakur up the order, Dhoni said, "Shardul has done decent batting, as has Deepak. He/they are allowed to go for the shots from the first ball, unlike other top-order batters."

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa smashed their respective fifties before Dhoni's cameo fired CSK to the final of IPL 2021.

"Robin enjoys batting at the top but Moeen has been excellent at No. 3. But we have created a situation where either of them could bat at No. 3 depending on the situation and the opposition," said Dhoni.

"Whenever Ruturaj and I have a chat, it's a simple chat. Want to know what he was thinking. It's good to see how well he has improved. He is someone willing to bat 20 overs," he added.

Further speaking about CSK's form in this year's IPL, Dhoni said, "Last season was the first time we didn't qualify into playoffs. But we wanted to just make use of the 3-4 games left last season, and a lot of our batters made use of that. That is the reason why we have come back strongly this season."

The Super Kings now await the winner of the Qualifier 2 in the final to be played on coming Friday.