Adapting to the dew and strategising bowling was the key: Dhoni

SHARJAH: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the emphatic win against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday that he kept the dew factor in mind at all times and strategised his bowling according to the conditions, which went a long way in helping his side win the contest in Sharjah.

On the back of a brilliant bowling performance by Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Thakur, Chennai Super Kings registered an assertive six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. With this win, Chennai have now moved back to the top of the points table with 14 points from seven wins out of nine matches. Though they are tied with Delhi Capitals for points, Chennai are on top due to superior net run rate.

"We were worried about the dew, so whenever there's chance of dew we want to bat second. They (RCB) got off to a good start but after ninth over the wicket slowed down. You still had to bowl tight, and (Ravindra) Jadeja's spell was important with (Devdutt) Padikkal batting from one end. After that (Dwayne) Bravo, Josh (Hazlewood), Shardul (Thakur), Deepak (Chahar) were brilliant. It's always on the back of your mind, which bowler can be effective over here," said Dhoni.

"I had told Moeen (Ali) before drinks that he would be bowling soon, but then I decided Bravo should bowl. The more you delay Bravo, the more difficult it is since he will end up bowling four straight overs in these difficult conditions. Our players have worked hard, they have understood their roles and responsibilities."

Dhoni said that compared to the other two grounds, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah ground had the slowest pitch and adapting to the dew and the conditions was the key. IANS

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