Dhoni effect. ‘It is tough’: Wiese not happy with the situation at Eden
David Wiese, the all-rounder of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), made his debut for the team on Sunday, April 23, against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Eden Gardens. However, he expressed disappointment at the overwhelming support for CSK and their captain MS Dhoni in Kolkata as compared to KKR. Wiese said it’s tough when the crowd is behind the opposition team during a home game as he called it a “Dhoni effect.”
“It’s tough when you come into a home game and you have got more opposition support than home support. But then, I suppose that’s the Dhoni effect. It is tough when you are out there and the momentum switches and the crowd is behind the opposition team and it gets louder and louder,” Wiese said.
“Things just tend to not go your way and it is easy to get carried away with everything. But that’s the nature of the game. But it is always a pleasure and privilege to play in front of so many fans,” he added.
Despite valiant efforts by Jason Roy, who scored 61 runs, and Rinku Singh, who remained unbeaten at 53, KKR failed to chase down the daunting target of 236 runs and finished at 186/8, losing the IPL 2023 match by 49 runs. CSK’s Tushar Deshpande and Maheesh Theekshana picked up two wickets each in the match.
Wiese heaps praise on Rahane
Wiese praised Ajinkya Rahane’s exceptional innings, which helped CSK dominate the match. Rahane’s unbeaten 71 runs off just 29 balls, including six fours and five sixes, earned him the Player of the Match award. The MS Dhoni-led side scored 126 runs in the last eight overs at a staggering economy rate of 15.75 to post the highest-ever score of the IPL at Eden Gardens.
“We didn’t feel like we bowled too badly. We stuck to our lengths, we stuck to our plans, but they ended up playing some good shots. Halfway through, they were 110 off 12 overs, we contained them quite nicely. Ajinkya Rahane came in and played fantastic innings. He was complemented by everybody else who came in,” Wiese added.
