'Street Smart' Dhoni Reveals Why Chennai Arrived Late At Chidambaram Stadium For Game Against Punjab

IPL

In the IPL 2023 match 41, Chennai Super Kings faced off against Punjab Kings, and MS Dhoni, the skipper of CSK, won the toss and chose to bat first due to the hot day conditions in Chennai. Both teams were hoping to get back to winning ways after suffering defeats in their previous games.

Dhoni also revealed an intelligent ploy that CSK had adopted. When asked about why his team arrived at the stadium slightly later than Punjab, he responded that it was a strategic decision to avoid his players being exposed to the sun for too long during the warm-up session. He mentioned that being under the sun for prolonged periods takes a toll on the players, and some teams arrive early for day games, but CSK came up with a clever plan to counter it.

_ Toss Update _@ChennaiIPL win the toss and elect to bat first against @PunjabKingsIPL

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2023

“When you play a day game, the heat is a factor. The fast bowlers can get some rest. In the day game, few players are too early. It is important to be intelligent. Not to be exposed a lot under the sun. IPL is a longish tournament," said Dhoni during after winning the toss.

The CSK skipper also spoke about their recent loss to Rajasthan Royals and how his team was trying to learn from their mistakes in games that don't go their way. Both teams were eager to perform well in the 999th match in IPL history, and with CSK batting first, they would hope to put up a challenging total on the board.

“There will be games which won’t go your way. You have to accept the learnings. It is the same team," added Dhoni. While Chennai Super Kings played with the same team from their last match, Shikhar made one change to his side, Harpreet Brar came into the playing XI in place of Gurnoor.

Playing XI

Punjab Kings: Atharva Taide, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana