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We did well as a unit: Dhoni

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: Chennai Super Kings captian Mahendra singh Dhoni felt that the narrow win against Knight Riders was the result of a collective effort. “We did well as a unit. The format of the game demands that every one should play his role properly,” he said after the match.

Praising his bowlers he said, “we got a perfect start and did not give away much in terms of runs. Murali (Muralitharan) did give away some runs but that was covered up by the others.”

The visiting captain said the batsmen (Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel) made it an allround show carrying forward the good work by the bowlers.

“It was good that we had all the wickets intact. It proved well when it came to the Duckworth-Lewis calculations,” he said.

“It is not the individual but the effort of the team that matters. We have great players in IPL who didn’t do well while there are not-so-well-known players who performed well,” he added.

Good for Ntini

Congratulating Makhaya Ntini for his hat-trick, Dhoni said, “It is good he (Ntini) is back among the wickets. He was not getting wickets and at times individuals like Virender Sehwag went after him. I hope this performance will help him get back into rhythm.”

Speaking for the Knight Riders, opener Salman Butt could only wish that his team wins the next three games to be in with a chance to make it to the semifinals.

“Our batting form hasn’t been what it should be. There is a lot of homework to be done,” he said. “I feel we fell 25 runs short on this pitch,” he added.

When asked about his compatriot Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan opener said the shortened format of the game does not give much scope to any bowler.

“In this format anybody can be hammered. Shoaib started well but he has not been able to maintain his rhythm,” he said.

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