M.S. Dhoni said the win against Kings XI Punjab was an emotional moment for him.
The CSK skipper said the team should have made the last four much earlier. “It was an emotional win for me. The franchise has been really nice, it respects the players and support staff and we had not faced any trouble. We should have reached the semifinals before this game. I had said the loss to Kings XI (at home) would hurt us and it was hurting,” he said at the post-match press conference here on Sunday.
When asked about Irfan Pathan's last over, the dashing batsman said he was waiting for the bowler to commit mistakes. “The strength of my batting is my power. So, I was just hoping that he bowled in my area and he did that,” Dhoni said.
He said Chennai needed to uplift its bowling standards in the knockout matches.
“We have been struggling with our bowling. Our main bowlers have not been able to bowl their full quota. In only one or two matches of the 14, we have bowled well and we are relying too much on our batsmen,” he said while reasoning out the side's over-dependence on a part-timer like Suresh Raina.
He praised the effort of Chennai's top run-getter Raina and S. Badrinath's effort with the bat. Dhoni also praised the HPCA Stadium wicket.
