IPL 2020, DC vs CSK: MS Dhoni revealed he missed Dwayne Bravo who was not fit to bowl the 20th over in their 5-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals but quite a few fans were left baffled as they saw Ravindra Jadeja bowl to two left-handers and fail to defend 17 in the final over.
Yohan Blake was not happy with MS Dhoni’s decision to bowl Ravindra Jadeja in the final over against DC (Courtesy of BCCI)
HIGHLIGHTS
- MS Dhoni missed Dwayne Bravo for the 20th over due to injury concerns
- Like millions of fans, Yohan Blake was also fuming as Jadeja bowled the final over
- DC needed 17 runs in 1 over and Axar Patel helped them get past the finish line
Legendary Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, an ardent cricket fan, was fuming in front of his television screen as MS Dhoni gave the final over when Delhi Capitals needed 17 runs to Ravindra Jadeja instead of his death-bowling expert Dwayne Bravo in their IPL 2020 match on Saturday in Sharjah.
Yohan Blake’s reaction must have mirrored thousands of CSK fans who were wondering why Dwayne Bravo was not given the final over despite two left-handers in centurion Shikhar Dhawan and Axar Patel in the middle. Dhoni’s move backfired as Axar Patel struck 3 huge sixes to help Delhi Capitals gun down the 180-run chase with a ball to spare.
IPL 2020, DC vs CSK: Highlights |Report
Jadeja was bowling into the left-hander’s arc and struggled to land it in the right areas as Axar kept hitting him out of the park. The decision to bowl Jadeja came as a surprise as Bravo had done well at the death in their win over Sunrisers Hyderabad a couple of nights ago, giving away just a single run in the 20th over.
“Poor poor poor poor choice Mahendra Singh Dhoni. You just can’t bowl Jadeja to the left-hand batsman hmmmm,” Yohan Blake wrote on social media.
Poor poor poor poor choice Mahendra Singh Dhoni. You just can’t bowl Jadeja to the left hand batsman hmmmm. @IPLselfie @IPL @ChennaiIPL @Dream11 @DJBravo47. pic.twitter.com/QxSWhBXaCD
— Yohan Blake (@YohanBlake) October 17, 2020
As it turned out, MS Dhoni was rather helpless as Dwayne Bravo picked an injury and went to the dressing room well before the 20th over. Dhoni revealed that Bravo was not able to return in time for the 20th over and he had to choose between Karn Sharma and Jadeja.
“Bravo was not fit, he went out and was really not able to come back. That was the reason we had to bowl (Jadeja). The option was between Karn and Jaddu so I went ahead with Jaddu. Maybe not enough,” MS Dhoni said.
Nonetheless, it was a stunning innings from Shikhar Dhawan, who hit his maiden IPL hundred in his 13th year of the tournament. Dhawan was in full flow as he never let Chennai Super Kings bowlers settle into any kind of rhythm.
Whenever Delhi Capitals lost a wicket, Dhawan made sure the new batsman did not feel the scoreboard pressure by finding boundaries at will. Dhawan was dropped thrice as well as the Delhi Capitals opener made the best use of the extra opportunities that came his way.
With their 6th defeat of the season, CSK are languishing at the 6th spot of IPL 2020 points table. They need to win at least 4 off their next 5 matches to stand a chance of making it to the play-offs.