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Poor start did us in: Dhoni

Karthik Krishnaswamy

Chennai: Following defeat in his team's opening game against Deccan Chargers here on Sunday, Chennai Super Kings captain M.S. Dhoni said the match was lost at the start of the chase.

“Chasing 190, if you lose too many early wickets, it puts too much pressure on the lower-order,” he said. “Considering that, I was quite happy we got 160 in the end. I thought the wicket was a bit on the slow side.”

Dhoni said the target could have been reached, had Chennai made a good start. “There's no reason why we couldn't have got there, with guys like Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina, who are the big-hitters in the top order, and later Justin Kemp and Albie Morkel.”

Asked if he might, in hindsight, have tried a few more overs of spin from someone like Raina, considering the turn the wicket was affording, he said that he had not use the part-timer due to the size of the boundaries. “I could have used him, but he's not a really big turner of the ball, and this isn't a very big ground,” he said.

Dhoni praises Ashwin

Dhoni praised R. Ashwin, who justified his decision to field two off-spinners with the wicket of Adam Gilchrist. “I think he's done well in whatever opportunities he's got. He watches the batsman till really late, and varies his length,” he said. “He's also got this leg-spin kind of delivery that he uses. The more he plays the better he'll become.”

Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, whose incisive early spell choked the Chennai chase and won him the Man-of-the-Match award, expressed satisfaction at the new-ball swing he achieved in both his matches so far. “I haven't done anything differently,” he said. “Hopefully, it will continue through the tournament.”

Asked if the impending arrival of West Indian paceman Kemar Roach, and the competition for one of four foreign player slots had acted as a spur, Vaas said, “We have a lot of foreigners in the team. Not only Roach, even Dwayne Smith (will be joining the team). I'm just looking forward to every game. My aim is to play in the World Cup next year.”

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