IPL 2023: 'He gives them some stares but...': Sunil Gavaskar in awe of MS Dhoni's captaincy after CSK beat RCB

MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) emerged on top of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight runs in match 24 of the IPL 2023 edition on Monday evening (April 17), at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. After being asked to bat first, the four-time champions Chennai rode on Devon Conway's 83, Ajinkya Rahane's 37 and Shivam Dube's 27-ball 52 to post a mammoth 226 for 6 and defended the target after restricting the Faf du Plessis-led RCB camp for 218 for 8.

While the win puts CSK in the top three, at the third spot, it wasn't an easy victory by any means. Despite posting 226 for 6 on board, the CSK bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the RCB batters -- mainly Glenn Maxwell (36-ball 76) and captain Du Plessis (33-ball 62) -- before some tidy overs towards the end enabled the Yellow Army to clinch the match. Chennai bowlers leaked runs left, right and centre while the fielders were very sloppy, however, Dhoni's calm and composed leadership, some good bowling changes and few tidy overs propelled CSK to turn the tides and end as the winners.

After CSK's win, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar explained how CSK weathered the ‘Faf-Maxwell’ storm in the Southern Derby, held in Bengaluru, and hailed Dhoni's cool leadership style."Players don't feel much pressure when MS Dhoni is leading the side. He's utterly cool and that helps. He stays in the moment and never gets carried away. Yes, he gives them some stares once they drop catches or miss field but he never puts them under pressure. That is the reason why CSK manage to brave crunch situations more often than not," Gavaskar toldStar Sports.

At the post-match presentation, Dhoni said, "When you come to Bangalore, you know it's a good wicket. Early part of IPL you get a lot of dew. You want to start well and then alter whatever is there in your mind. It was slightly tacky to start off. It's important to go through that and then look to accelerate. We kept it simple and tried to get as much as possible in the second half of the game." He added, "I keep assessing from behind the wicket, I am always involved in what needs to be done rather than thinking about the result. (on death overs) It is a difficult one for the youngsters, specially at this time of the year with the dew around. But they are working hard. Bravo is one of the specialists. Under him, the bowlers will gain confidence. It's a team game. The coach, the bowling coach and the senior players guide them."

CSK will now host the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), in Chennai, in match 29 on Friday (April 21).