CSK VS RR: GAUTAM GAMBHIR SLAMS MS DHONI FOR BATTING AT NO.7; THALA EXPLAINS HIS REASON! 

The fourth IPL 2020 match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is currently making headlines for all the good and bad reasons. 

As fans were surprised to see MS Dhoni bat at number 7, so was former India batsman Gautam Gambhir. As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had a huge 217-run target to win, Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kedar Jadhav came to bat at No. 4, 5 and 6 respectively while Dhoni was down for No. 7.

“I was a bit surprised to be honest. MS Dhoni batting at No. 7? And sending [Ruturaj] Gaikwad before him, Sam Curran before him. Makes no sense to me. In fact, you should be leading from the front. And this is not what you call leading from the front. Batting at No. 7 when you’re chasing what… 213 [217]? The game was over. Faf was probably the lone warrior," Gambhir said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out.

“Yes, you can talk about MS Dhoni’s last over [when he hit three sixes], but it was of no use to be honest. They were all just personal runs. There is nothing wrong if you end up getting out early, at least start leading from the front, trying to inspire the team as well,” Gambhir added.  

During the match, Faf du Plessis top-scored 72 off 27 balls including seven sixes, that gave CSK a chance to bring up the score. When Dhoni came out to bat, he managed to remain unbeaten on 29 off 17, including a hat-trick of sixes off Tom Curran in the final over of the match but by then CSK was far from winning the match.

Post the match, Dhoni explained his reason to bat lower, saying he wanted to give others a chance considering he hasn’t played much cricket. 

“With 217 on the board, we needed a very good start which was not the case. Steve [Smith] and Sanju [Samson] batted very well. Need to give credit to their bowlers. There was a lot of dew. Once you’ve seen the first innings, you know the length to bowl. Their spinners did well to bowl away from the batsman. Their spinners didn’t try too many things. That was an error our spinners did in their first couple of overs," Dhoni was quoted saying during the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I haven’t batted for a long time. 14-day quarantine doesn’t help either. Also wanted to try different things, give opportunities to Sam [Curran]. Have the opportunity to try different things. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to your strengths. Faf [du Plessis] adapted very well. Something the batsmen will do, neglect square leg and go more towards long-on and long-off,” Dhoni concluded.  

Meanwhile, Gambhir, the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, who helped the franchise win two IPL titles, felt that Dhoni should have batted higher.