Chennai captain MS Dhoni has once again voiced his concern over the slow Chepauk pitch following a low game against Dinesh Karthik’s Kolkata team.
With the pitch soaked in dew, Dhoni decided to go for the chase and a bowling brilliance from Deepak Chahar, Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir restricted the visitors to a paltry 108/9 in 20 overs. Amongst the entire batting lot, only Andre Russell scored beyond 20.
While it was a rather easy chase, Chennai batsmen struggled to get a grip, but a firm innings from Faf du Plessis made sure his side gets away with all points. The South African played an unbeaten 45-ball 43.
Speaking after the game, Chennai captain MS Dhoni compared the pitch to their opening fixture of the season against Virat Kohli’s Bengaluru team, which saw just 141 runs amongst both the teams.
"Well, again, it became like the first game," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation on Tuesday. "We were cribbing about the track but we ended up winning the game. And [after] losing Bravo, it's slightly difficult for us to get the combination right because we're missing an allrounder and David [Willey] is not here, so it can't be a straight swap.
"So, if you look it looks a good wicket to us. But, I don't think we want to play on wickets like these because it becomes too low-scoring and it becomes slightly difficult for our batters to get going. And also what happens is that it's slightly more difficult if you're batting first. As the dew comes in, it becomes slightly easier in the second half."
Even Deepak Chahar, who put down a man of the match performance by scalping three wickets for 20, agreed with his skipper by admitting that the team is looking ‘for a better wicket.’
"I'm happy I performed well, but obviously we're looking for a better wicket," Chahar said. "Nobody wants this type of a wicket. It's [because of] the soil and heat and you can't help it. It's very hot here and the pitch curators are doing their best job to give us a good track. But, at the end of the day you can't help it."
