Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja almost secured an improbable victory with their end-overs strike – the match ended with Super Kings one hit away from victory, needing 54 balls from 18 at one stage – but the captain of the Super Kings suggested after the game that it was necessary I didn’t get into that situation in the first place.
“I think [we lost it] in the midst [overs while batting]we needed a bit more batting rotation,” said Dhoni during the post-match presentation. “I don’t think there was much [of help] for the spinners. Yes, they have experienced spinners, so they bowled really well. They were bowling at the right length, but I was feeling well during that period [we had] too many bubbles.
“If the wicket is slow, if it stops and turns then I can understand but with the set batsman and the new batsman going in I don’t think it was that hard. So I think the ownership of the batsmen.”
Dhoni faced two of the last three balls and only managed to drag them across the ground for singles. In between, Sandeep threw a ball to Jadeja, turning it away from the left-hander’s batting arc from over the wicket and giving up another single.
Sandeep explained his thought process when interviewed by Star sports after the match.
“In the last I wanted to execute Yorkers,” he said. “I’ve bowled good yorkers in the nets. One side of the ground was bigger so I thought I’d use that and bowl on the [batter’s] heel, but it turned out to be low full tosses and went for six. Then I changed my plan and went around the wicket hoping for a change, and it was good that the result was different.
“I bowed over the wicket to Jaddu bhai and my plan was to keep the ball out of his reach. The shots he hit at Jason [Holder] lay on the floor. So my plan was to get it out of its reach. And to Mahi bhai, my plan was to change the angle when I was hit for two sixes while bowling over the wicket from the heel. So I went around the wicket and bowled it wide, and changed the angle.”