Scratch win should reignite CSK campaign, says Sanjay Bangar

Not exactly a smooth win because Chennai batters struggled in the middle phase of the innings. But when a team is not winning games, to get back into that winning rhythm, you require such scratchy wins, Bangar said

HYDERABAD: For Chennai Super Kings, the “scratchy win” against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL league match in Lucknow on Monday night should re-ignite its campaign, says Sanjay Bangar on JioHotstar.

“Not exactly a smooth win because Chennai batters struggled in the middle phase of the innings. But when a team is not winning games, to get back into that winning rhythm, you require such scratchy wins,” Bangar said.

“These are two points of immense value for Chennai Super Kings, and those players will realise what it means to them. Once you lose five games, the kind of energy that gets built up into the entire team—it’s not an easy place to be, but the fact that MS Dhoni still steered that successful chase was critical,” he said.

“In his absence, it could have gone wrong for Chennai Super Kings again. Hopefully, this scratchy win reignites their campaign in a big way,” Bangar said.

On Dhoni, the former India batting coach said that the cricketing great was not in his best physical shape. “Towards the end of the innings, we saw him limping a little while collecting balls down the leg side. But he still pushed through and found the strength to come out and perform the way he did,” he said.

“Between the wickets, he wasn’t running fluently—he was struggling. But, as always, he kept his cool and stitched together that partnership. The closer it gets, the more difficult it becomes, the chances of (the opposition) making a mistake increase,” Bangar said.

“That’s where MS Dhoni is so good—he sneaks it in towards the very end and finished the match brilliantly, snatching victory from the grasp of the Lucknow Super Giants,” he said.

“CSK’s next game is going to be a tough encounter against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede because that surface and ground will put a lot of pressure on the Chennai Super Kings’ batting unit to post a big score,” Bangar said.

For his part former India pacer Varun Aaron said having Dhoni at the crease was priceless, especially towards the end. “I think today was one of those nights where the top order—especially the first two—gave him a reasonable target to achieve,” he said.