Hardik Pandya lauds Dhoni's tactical acumen with ‘man behind the stumps’ remark

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya could not hide his appreciation for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's tactical acumen following his team's 20-run loss to Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday (April 14).

While Dhoni's barrage of three sixes and a hurriedly-completed two runs off the last delivery was something that gave CSK the winning cushion, it was the former India skipper's reading of the game from behind the stumps that Pandya felt made the difference on a belter of a track.

"They (CSK) were smart with their plans and used the longer boundary well. They got the hang of it and they have a man behind the stumps telling them what's working," said Hardik after his side failed to chase 206 despite Rohit Sharma smashing his second IPL century and batting from start to finish.

Our ‘young’ keeper’s 3 sixes made the difference: Gaikwad

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad gave Dhoni a huge compliment, saying his power-hitting with just four balls remaining made the difference between victory and defeat.

Dhoni, 42, scored 20 off four deliveries, which in the end made the difference to the match's outcome.

"Our young wicketkeeper (MSD) scoring three sixes down the order helped a lot and I think that was the difference. To start off, on this kind of ground, you need 10-15 extra runs. We were looking at 215-220, but Bumrah bowled well," said Gaikwad, who took over the captaincy duties from Dhoni this season.

‘Pathirana nailed the yorkers’

"Bowling-wise, we were spot-on with our execution. Even in the powerplay, I would have taken six overs for 60. These kinds of venues demand both skills: batting and bowling. Our Malinga (Matheesha Pathirana) bowled exceptionally well and nailed those yorkers," he said.

On why he did not open the innings and instead sent Ajinkya Rahane with Rachin Ravindra, Gaikwad said, "Nothing, Jinks (Rahane) was carrying a bit of a niggle. Thought it was better for him to open and get some quick runs. I'm fine batting anywhere."

Player of the Match, Pathirana, who grabbed his best IPL figures of 4/28, said he was a bit nervous as he was coming back into the side after recovering from a niggle.

"When we bowled in the powerplay, I was nervous. I don't think about results and I just think about execution. First of all, I had a niggle for two weeks and all the support staff and players helped me,” said Pathirana.

"That's the main thing to have my form," said the Sri Lankan, who has modelled his action on the lines of the legendary Lasith Malinga.

(With agency inputs)