Skipper Dhoni takes blame for Supergiants’ defeat

A dejected Dhoni blamed himself after the loss and rued his defensive approach, saying his 23-ball 24 didn’t help his team’s cause. “We didn’t bat well after the 10th over. That includes me also, on this kind of wicket, 23 off 24 doesn’t really help the team,” he said. 

Dhoni, however, seemed to have realised where he had missed the trick so far in this season. “At times we were thinking too much about what happens if we lose a few wickets. What we need to do is go out there, express ourselves,” he said. 

On Sunday, Pune bowlers went down without a fight against Mumbai Indians. Ashok Dinda and R Ashwin were the only men among the wickets as Mumbai went past the line with eight wickets to spare. 

Dhoni, who has been vocal about the spineless efforts of his bowlers, said they needed to buckle up and win matches for their team. “The bowling has shown improvement, but it doesn’t really count if you’re not winning games,” he said. 

On the other hand, Rohit, who led from the front smashing an unbeaten 80 off 65 balls, said he was more comfortable chasing targets. “I’ve not had a great time batting first, but when I’m chasing, obviously, the score is in front of you, I plan my innings really well. But again, it’s a challenge, batting first or chasing, toss is not in your hands,” he said. 

Rohit also credited his bowlers for restricting Pune Supergiants to a below-par score. “I think it was a great effort from the bowlers. Restricting them to 160 was a great effort, considering the way they started. Coming back, and tightening up was important, and the spinners and the fast bowlers did a brilliant job,” he said. 

Mumbai climbed to the second spot on the table after winning the Maharashtra derby.