Crunch hour: Spotlight on Dhoni

Aiming to lift CSK from the bottom, captain spends a lot of time playing spinners in nets

- FIROZ MIRZA @Lucknow

SHIVAM Dube, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja and Rahul Tripathi had a long session of batting while R Ashwin bowled continuously even as batters facing him kept changing here at Ekana on Sunday evening. But what caught the attention was the initial absence of Chennai Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni.

Injury to their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad meant the former India skipper was given the reins of the team once again ahead of CSK's previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai. It hardly made any difference as the team's campaign went from bad to worse with the defending champions registering a comprehensive win. The loss was CSK's third straight defeat at home and fifth successive this season.