Hardik Pandya conceded that Matheesha Pathirana, with MS Dhoni helping out from behind the stumps, was the difference as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 20 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
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“It (target) was definitely gettable, but they bowled pretty well. Pathirana was the difference. They were smart with the plans and their approach. They got the hang of it, there’s a man behind the stumps (MS Dhoni) who tells them what’s working, that helps,” Hardik Pandya said at the post match presentation.
Pathirana came up with his best IPL figures, grabbing four wickets, inluding Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the same over, which Hardik said made all the difference in the end.
“It (pitch) was holding up a bit and getting difficult. It was about batting well and keeping the intent. We were going quite well (in the run chase) till Pathirana came into the attack and took those two wickets,” Hardik said.
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Pathirana took the wickets of Ishan (23), Surya (0), Tilak Varma (31) and Romario Shepherd (1) to return figures of 4/28 as MI lost steam in the chase of an imposing 206/4, managing to score 186/6.
Rohit batted from start to finish for his unbeaten 105 off 63 deliveries — his second IPL century — but he could not find a partner who could stay with him long enough and build a big partnership.
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Earlier, CSK top-order batter Shivam Dube and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad struck stroke-filled half-centuries as the five-time champions scored 206/4.
Dube slammed an unbeaten 66 off 38 deliveries, while Gaikwad smashed a 40-ball 69, including five maximums, as the duo put up a 90-run stand after CSK had lost openers Ajinkya Rahul (5) and Rachin Ravindra (21) cheaply.
When Hardik was asked if there was anything he would do differenty, especially with regard to bowling to Dube, he said: “It was about what is best at that time, we could have done something different. I like to play percentage cricket, it would have been difficult for him (Dube) against seamers rather than spin.”
“We are on the road for the next four games, need to play good cricket, need to keep the intensity high,” Hardik added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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