MS Dhoni wasn't the only one who struggled: Stephen Fleming defends CSK skipper after poor show against DC

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni's struggles with the willow have been left exposed once again in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season. Dhoni, who retired from international cricket last year, is enduring a second successive rough patch as he continues to lead CSK.

The 40-year-old played a scrappy knock in his side's clash against Delhi Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on Monday.Dhoni came out to bat at number six when CSK were reeling at 62/4 inside nine overs after Robin Uthappa's departure. While he combined with Ambati Rayudu to arrest the collapse, the CSK captain failed to accelerate and played an abysmal knock of 18 runs off 27 balls.

Dhoni was once again criticised by many for his poor show with the bat. However, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming came out in defence of the skipper and pointed out that he was not the only batsman who struggled to score runs on the slow surface in Dubai.

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Fleming pointed out the fact that even Delhi Capitals' batsmen struggled and could chase down the target of 137 runs with only three wickets and three balls to spare.

"Well, he (Dhoni) wasn't the only one who struggled," CSK head coach Fleming said at the post-match press conference.

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"It was a difficult day for strokeplay. When 137 (136) is almost enough, I think it was a tough wicket to score big on in terms of the big shots. So both teams struggled with that towards the end of the innings. Sometimes you set your sights too high, [want] too many, and probably we were only 10-15 runs short of having a match-winning score," he added.

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While Dhoni scored 18 off 27 balls, it was Rayudu's unbeaten 55 off 43 deliveries which helped CSK post a respectable total of 136 runs on the board. DC too struggled in the run-chase and were left reeling on 98/5 at one stage before Shimron Hetmyer slammed 28 not-out and combined with the tail-enders to help them secure a three-wicket win and go on top of the points table.

Fleming countered the 'lack of intent' criticism for Dhoni and said there was no lack of intent from the CSK skipper while crediting Delhi Capitals' bowlers for their impressive show in the death overs.

"So, the difficulty at the moment is to assess what the conditions are in all three different grounds and, batting first, getting a score that is par or just above. It was no lack of intent, it was just we had to stabilise after a couple of mistakes and then we were reasonably well-placed for 150. The other thing was their attack bowled very well in the last five overs. They were very smart, so it was tough going," said the CSK head coach.

CSK are now second on the points table with 18 points from 13 matches while DC are on the top with 20 points from as many matches.