IPL 2020: Experience pays off, CSK skipper MS Dhoni after win over MI

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Chennai Super Kings seemed in their elements on Saturday when the MS Dhoni-led side thrashed defending champions Mumbai Indians by five wickets in IPL 2020 season opener in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

While Dhoni expressed that it wasn’t a water-tight performance from his team in the first game as they started off slow but felt experience eventually paid off for the oldest average-age squad in the IPL.

“The experience pays off, everyone talks about it. You get it only after you play a lot of games. 300 ODIs is a dream for anybody to play and when you put an XI on the field, you need a good mix of youngsters and experienced players,” the 38-year-old skipper said at the post-match presentation. 

“You need the experienced players to guide the youngsters on and off the field. The young players get 60-70 days with the seniors in the IPL.”

While MSD praised Faf du Plessis (54 not out off 43 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (71 off 48) for the partnership after the openers fell early, the former Indian cricketer expressed satisfaction at Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for coming up the order and do what they know the best.

“One thing we haven't done is giving a chance to Jadeja and Curran to come up the order and express themselves which is what we did today. It was a psychological thing of saying that okay, we have batsmen down, so we'll send one or two of them up to hit a few,” he said.

Before concluding, Dhoni also praised the organisers for putting together an event in such unprecedented times of COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is an amazing job done by the IPL, especially ones behind the scenes. To make it happen there are a hundred different things; as cricketers we easily criticize stuff. 

“To have the practice facilities like these at the ICC academy were fantastic. Unless you get practice facilities you won't play well in a tournament like this,” he said.