It was once again a thriller in Sharjah, as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) acceded to yet another defeat, with Delhi Capitals (DC) winning by five wickets, with a ball to spare. This loss has really put MS Dhoni and co's playoffs qualification campaign in a disarray, as a couple of further losses would surely put them out of contention.
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Meanwhile, one of the talking points of the game, especially in the closing stages, was Dhoni not handing specialist death bowler Dwayne Bravo the ball in the final over. It was the very over, where DC scored the required 17 runs, thanks to Axar Patel's cameo of a five-ball 21.
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Nonetheless, here what's Dhoni said, "Bravo was not fit, he went out and was really not able to come back. That was the reason we had to bowl (Jadeja). The option was between Karn [Sharma] and Jaddu, so I went ahead with Jaddu. Maybe, not enough."
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Meanwhile, CSK head coach, Stephen Fleming, later confirmed that Bravo had suffered a groin injury and is likely to be out of action for a couple of weeks. "He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field," he said at the post-match press conference.
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"He's obviously desperately disappointed that he couldn't bowl the last over - that's what he's pretty much in the team for. He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage, you'd imagine it's going to take a few days or a couple of weeks, but we will assess that tomorrow," added Fleming.
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Bravo had come into the tournament with a knee injury, forcing him to miss the initial three matches for CSK. He had also missed out on bowling for Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) last month, owing to the very injury, and had instead played as a specialist batsman.
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Bravo's injury certainly is a big setback for CSK, with their playoffs qualification campaign already looking chaotic. Nonetheless, it would open up the slot for ace leg-spinner Imran Tahir. Although Tahir is yet to make an impact on the tracks of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he is certainly deadly.
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Tahir finished as the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2019, with 26 scalps at an economy of 6.69. He was also the highest wicket-taker for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL this year, claiming 15 from 10 matches, at an economy of 5.82.
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Also, Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner could be another option for them. Furthermore, with the track depleting in the UAE, with each passing game, the spinners are more likely to be effective and would come into the action. CSK's next game is against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday, in Abu Dhabi.
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