Mahendra Singh Dhoni said – it was important for us to make a strong comeback

Dubai: Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said here on Friday that it was important for him to make a good comeback after missing out on a place in the playoffs last year and he is happy that his team has succeeded and emerged champions.

Chennai won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title for the fourth time by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs in the final. When invited to bat first, Chennai scored 192 for three on the back of 86 by Faf du Plessis and useful contributions from other top-order batsmen. In reply, KKR got off to a good start by adding 91 runs for the first wicket by Shubman Gill (51) and Venkatesh Iyer (50), but their team could only manage 165 for nine in the end.

KKR was the title contender in IPL – Dhoni

Dhoni said after the match, “Before talking about Chennai, I would like to talk about KKR. If any team was the title contender in this IPL, it was KKR. He made a great comeback. I think they benefited from the break.” He said, “As far as Chennai is concerned, we are a consistently good team in statistics but we kept losing in the finals. We wanted to improve on the aspect that didn’t let the opposing team dominate. We did this. It was important for us to make a good comeback.

KKR captain Eoin Morgan said that today was not his day but he is happy with his team’s performance. Morgan said, “I am very proud of the kind of passion shown by the players. Today was unfortunately not our day. Venkatesh (Iyer) is new to this platform but his future is bright. Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi performed exceptionally. Chennai head coach Stephen Fleming said, “We have reached the final many times but it was important to cross the last hurdle. There was also criticism regarding the selection of older players but they did well at the right time. Young players are important but experience is very important.

I am proud of my players – KKR head coach Brendon McCullum

KKR head coach Brendon McCullum said, “We had a great journey and I am proud of my players, but today the team that performed better won and Chennai played like a champion team. We should be proud of the way we performed in the second leg.” Du Plessis, who was adjudged the man of the match for his brilliant 86, said, “It was a wonderful day. It was the 100th match in the IPL and it was a special day for me. I have been with Chennai for a long time and it was a wonderful time. Ruturaj (Gaikwad) is a genius. His future is bright.”

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