CSK skipper MS Dhoni (centre) reacts after getting out in Sharjah on Friday.
Chennai Super Kings' glimmer of a hope to lift Indian Premier League 2020 certainly ended on Friday when the side suffered a 10-wicket mauling by defending champions Mumbai Indians in Sharjah.
The team never looked in the game from the word go with Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah picking five wickets in the powerplays itself with the scoreaboard at one stage appallingly reading 3/4 at one stage.
It was a new low MS Dhoni-led CSK and the skipper minced no word in admitting they were outplayed and felt the team wasn't upto the mark the entire season so far.
"It does hurt. What you need to see is what are the things that are going wrong. Specially this year, it hasn't been our year. Whether you lose by 8 or 10 wickets, it hardly matters, but where we are at this stage of the tournament, it does hurt," he said.
MSD further said: "When you put a good team on paper, have we done enough to back up the stats? And this year we haven't. Cumulatively there have been batting failures. It's part and parcel, you can't always think the result will go your way. You try to do the toughest thing, even when you're hurting, you try to smile and take it on the chin. I feel the boys have done that, they've tried to perform. I think it's important for us to have a clear picture of next year."
With three games to go and the chances of making it to play-off seems over, Dhoni said the next games will be about ending the season with some pride while working with the youngsters for next year's IPL.
"The coming three games will be an ideal opportunity to give platforms. See some of the youngsters in preparation for the next year. A few more who are on the bench will get games in the coming three games," he said.
