Learned a lot about batting from Dhoni, says Pretorius

South Africa allrounder Dwaine Pretorius hailed Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni's finishing abilities and hoped to replicate the same for his country.

Pretorius, who played for CSK in the IPL 2022, was alongside Dhoni in the middle against Mumbai Indians when they put up 33 off 21 balls while chasing 156. Needing 17 off the final over, Dhoni hit two boundaries and a six against Jaydev Unadkat to take CSK to victory.

Pretorius felt that the positive mindset of Dhoni while finishing games helped him to look at T20 batting from a fresh perspective.

"I really enjoyed playing under Dhoni and batting with him. Seeing the brand he has in India shows you how big he is and what he's done for the sport in this country," Pretorius told reporters on Monday.

"The biggest thing I learnt from him is how calm he is at the crease, and how much he tries to take pressure off himself and put it onto the bowler. He made me realise that, at the death, the batter isn't under more pressure. It's actually the bowler who is under more pressure. You can still lose the match if you have to defend 18 off the last three balls, and as a batter you can actually win it. It was a fresh mindset," the allrounder added.

Pretorius felt that replicating Dhoni's calmness will be a big addition to his game as well.

"He doesn't get too excited. He doesn't get too down on himself. Anything is always possible. He's very optimistic. He believes he can do anything. I'm going to try and bring that into my game - the calmness but also the self-belief that, from any position, any game can be won," he said.

CSK finished second from bottom in the table as they ended their campaign with four wins and 10 losses. Pretorius said that dressing room remained grounded despite a bad season.

"What's nice about the CSK team and franchise set-up is that it is very experienced. We all understand that cricket doesn't always go your way. It's important to take the positives out of a bad season and try and build for a stronger future; trying to make sure that a bad season is not a complete loss," he said.

South Africa will play first of their five T20Is against India on June 9 at Delhi.