IPL 2023: MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday went down to Rajasthan Royals in a nail-biting encounter by 3 runs at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja attempted to revive Super Kings' hopes after they were reeling at 122/6 at the end of 17 overs. But the duo fell one hit short of a famous win in front of the home fans in Dhoni's 200th match as CSk captain. Dhoni was seen limping while batting in the second innings, former cricketer Matthew Hayden stated after the match. Meanwhile, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has now opened up on Dhoni's injury.
Fleming said that Dhoni is nursing a knee injury and that is hindering his movement while playing. "He (Dhoni) is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movement, hindering him somewhat. His fitness has been professional. He comes in months before the tournament starts. He does some nets in Ranchi, but his main pre-season is a month before he comes to Chennai," Fleming told reporters at the post-match press conference.
Meanwhile, Fleming is confident of the skipper managing his injury and continuing in his role. "He works his way back into match form, and you can still see he is playing pretty well. So we always have confidence about how he manages himself. He always keeps himself up to speed," he added.
Notably, CSK coach Stephen Fleming threw light on the injuries of Deepak Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, Ben Stokes, and Sisanda Magala. "Deepak Chahar is (out for) two-or-three weeks, Simarjeet Singh... I am guessing a little bit here... he is (out for) 10 days, Ben Stokes is improving day by day, Mukesh Choudhary is out, Magala is out for at least two weeks," Fleming said in a post-match press conference.
Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in a high-voltage match of IPL 2023 on Wednesday. In the match played at CSK's home ground, MA Chidambaram stadium, RR beat the MS Dhoni-led team by 3 runs. The match was an absolute nail-biter as it went down the wire.
Coming to bat first after losing the toss, Sanju Samson-led team registered 175/8 in 20 overs. In response, Team CSK managed to chase 172 runs at a loss of 6 wickets. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja tried getting CSK over the line with 54 required in the final 3 overs. The equation came down to 21 off 6 but despite Dhoni's two sixes in the final over, the four-time champions went down by 3 runs.
