‘I Felt Pathirana’s Bowling Was Good’: MS Dhoni Defends Young Pacer After Expensive Spell Against Rajasthan Royals

A poor bowling show against Rajasthan Royals proved to be quite costly as Chennai Super Kings suffered a 32-run defeat in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Thursday. Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana turned out to be the most expensive bowler for Chennai after conceding 48 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Pathirana, who registered an economy rate of 12.00 last night, failed to pick up a wicket against Rajasthan. Pathirana’s poor show did enough to infuriate Chennai fans, but he got the backing of his captain MS Dhoni. The World Cup-winning skipper said that the scorecard does not justify Pathirana’s performance.

“I felt Pathirana’s bowling was good, he didn’t bowl badly. I think the scorecard doesn’t reflect how well he bowled,” MS Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

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Pathirana made his IPL debut last year. But he could only play two matches in IPL 2022. With four wickets in as many games, the 20-year-old has already proved his mettle in the 16th edition of the IPL. In international cricket, he has represented Sri Lanka in one T20I match.

Coming back to the game, Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson decided to bat first after winning the toss and the decision did pay off. Rajasthan registered a mammoth total of 202. Opening batters- Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a blistering start to earn a solid stage for Rajasthan. Jaiswal went on to play a fine knock of 77 to guide Rajasthan to a strong total. Dhoni, following the encounter, confessed that his bowlers did concede too many runs in the first six overs. “They scored quite a bit above par. We gave away too many in the first six. At the same time, the wicket was great to bat on,” the Chennai captain disclosed.

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Rajasthan spinner Adam Zampa picked up three wickets and emerged as his side’s best bowler on Thursday. Chennai’s Shivam Dube did play a fine knock of 52 but his brilliance with the bat went in vain ultimately. MS Dhoni’s men, eventually, fell short by 32 runs. The defeat leaves Chennai in the third spot in the IPL 2023 standings. Rajasthan, on the other hand, dethroned Chennai to claim the top spot on the IPL points table.

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