"The Reason Was...": MS Dhoni's Honest Admission After CSK's Defeat To RR

Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings suffered a comprehensive loss to Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match on Thursday, falling 33 runs short of the target of 203 runs. The hosts, despite lacking a bit of home support from fans, put in a fabulous display of batting, with Yashasvi Jaiswal emerging as the top-scoring batter. Chasing such a stiff target, CSK skipper MS Dhoni admitted that there were just too many runs to chase for his team, especially because of the way the Royals batted in the first 6 overs.

Rajasthan started the match in 5th gear, putting a whopping 64 runs on the board in the first 6 overs, with Jaiswal and Buttler putting yet another half-century stand for the opening wicket. Though Buttler failed to convert his start into a big score, Jaiswal went on and scored 77 runs off 43 balls to lay a solid foundation for his team.

Chasing the target of 203 runs, Chennai barely looked in control of the required run-rate which kept increasing despite Ruturaj Gaikwad (47) and Shivam Dube (53) producing solid knocks.

Why does the Sawai Mansingh Stadium remain special for @msdhoni?Here's what he said #TATAIPL | #RRvCSK pic.twitter.com/u4ApgNZHDC

Dhoni, speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, admitted that the target was quite above par. In fact, he felt CSK ended up on the losing side because of what RR did in their first six overs.

"It was quite a bit above par score. The reason was the first six overs, we gave away too many in the first six. At the same time the wicket was best to bat on at that period. Then our bowlers bowled well in the middle overs but even when we were finishing, there were a few edges that went for boundaries and that actually kept adding to the score. If I