Faf Du Plessis in awe of MS Dhoni

Australian Shane Watson made a blistering 78 while Dhoni hit a quick-fire unbeaten 51 to guide CSK to a 13-run victory over bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils in an IPL game on Monday. In the last two games against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Daredevils, Dhoni, with his power hitting, has reminded his critics that he is not yet done. 

“He (Dhoni) is in really good form at the moment, so it’s extremely tough to bowl to him when he is in a form like that. He has got such a big arch and if you want to bowl wide he can still hit you to the leg side,” Du Plessis said at the post-match press conference. 

“He has got a lot of options, so it makes life difficult for a bowler and a captain because he can hit any ball to wherever he wants to. That kind of form is obviously very important to us,” he added. 

Du Plessis also praised batsman Ambati Rayadu for his “flexibility”. Rayadu has delivered for CSK when asked to open and even he was required to bat at the number four position. 

“Rayadu’s flexibility has really impressed me. I have really enjoyed watching him bat in this IPL. The ability to come in and score boundaries from the first ball is a very difficult skill. That ability to come at four and five and score a boundary straight-away, not a lot of people can do that,” Du Plessis said. 

“With Suresh (Raina) at three and (Rayadu) at four, if we get off to a solid start, the two can just come in and play their natural game which can be dangerous for the opposition. So we are fortunate that we have got a lot of options in the batting unit,” the South African skipper said.