IPL 2022: If we make playoffs great but if we don’t it’s not the end of the world, says Dhoni

Mumbai: After a massive win over Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that he wants to take one game at a time and is not worried about his team’s playoff qualifications, adding that even if they fail in that pursuit, it won’t be the “end of the world”.

An excellent half-century from Devon Conway (87 off 49) followed by a brilliant bowling effort by Moeen Ali (3/13) led Chennai Super Kings to a convincing 91-run win over Delhi Capitals in the 55th match of the IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.

It was CSK’s fourth win in the ongoing IPL season and they moved to eighth spot, going above KKR on net run rate. The win also kept CSK alive for playoff contention, even though their chances depend on a lot of other results going their way plus they have to win their remaining three games.

“I am not a big fan of math. Even in school I wasn’t good at it. Thinking of the NRR doesn’t help. You just want to enjoy the IPL,” said Dhoni at the post-match presentation.

“When two other teams are playing, you don’t want to be under pressure and thinking. You just have to think about what to do in the next game. If we make the playoffs, great. But even if we don’t it’s not the end of the world,” he added.

However, Dhoni admitted that a perfect win like they registered against DC, would have been better if they had played well in the earlier part of the tournament.

“It (win) really helps. It would have been better if we would have had a win like this somewhere early. It was a perfect game,” he said.

“The batters did really well. It was a toss where we wanted to win and field first, but in the heart, I was fine to lose the toss. The ball stops and comes, and it behaves only after 13-14 overs. Everybody contributed a bit. Runs on the board really help, and it was important to restrict their big-hitters,” he added.

The CSK skipper also praised his young pacers Simarjeet Singh and Mukesh Choudhary for showing maturity under pressure situations.

“Both Simarjeet and Mukesh have taken time to mature. They have the capability, the more they play, the better they’ll get at game sense. It is ultimately about reading which is a good delivery to bowl and which is a delivery to not bowl. In T20 cricket, it is all about knowing which delivery not to bowl,” he said.

CSK will now take on the bottom-placed Mumbai Indians on May 12 at the Wankhede Stadium.

–IANS