MS Dhoni mesmerized everyone present in the stadium with a remarkable innings of 16 runs off 37 balls, playing four boundaries and three sixes.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Sunday, reclaimed the years with a stunning innings against Delhi Capitals in an Indian Premier League match. It was a vintage MS Dhoni show in Visakhapatnam as fans went crazy when he walked in with the bat in hand. The atmosphere was electric, and Dhoni made sure the fans went back with a memorable moment. It was the first time he got a chance to bat this season, and he did not disappoint anyone.
However, his cameo wasn’t enough to save CSK from defeat as Delhi claimed their first victory of the season by a margin of 20 runs.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman came out to bat in the 17th over and slipped from reach with the match slipping away. However, Dhoni’s innings of 16 runs off 37 balls mesmerized everyone present in the stadium. The former captain smashed four boundaries and three sixes.
CSK needed 41 runs in the last over, and Dhoni started it off by hitting the first ball from Enrique Nortje for a boundary through extra cover. Nortje struggled to get his line and length right as the CSK stalwart continued to punish him. On the second ball, a full toss, he went for another six over mid-wicket with one hand. Things kept getting worse for Proteas pacer as he bowled another full toss on the fourth ball, which went for another boundary.
Dhoni made sure the fans witnessed his vintage side with his last ball as he smashed it for maximum over extra cover, ending his innings with a strike rate of 231.25.
However, chasing a target of 192, Chennai’s fast bowlers Khalil Ahmed (two wickets for 21 runs) and Mukesh Kumar (three wickets for 21 runs) wreaked havoc, taking six wickets for 171 runs and destroying the team.
Earlier, during the first innings, the veteran wicketkeeper claimed a sensational catch during Delhi Capitals’ struggle and obtained a milestone of 20 catches in T20s.
Dhoni’s batting was fantastic, and in a difficult day, he was the only positive,” Fleming said.
“There is no better player than Mahendra Singh Dhoni when it comes to awareness of the game, and it is evident from his first time playing with the bat this IPL season.”
The difference in CSK’s first defeat of the season would have been bigger if Dhoni’s 16-run innings off 37 balls had not been at number eight.
In Dhoni’s cameo against Delhi Capitals, there was a six included in the extra cover on the maximum cover from one hand over the mid-wicket in the 20th over.
The 42-year-old, who last played for India in 2019, underwent knee surgery last year.
“It was beautiful, wasn’t it? He’s playing remarkably well pre-season. He’s returning from a serious injury quite seriously. His batting was superb. He gave us a positive pull at the end of a difficult day,” the former New Zealand captain said in a press conference after the match on Sunday.
Fleming said, “It is important to come within 20 runs range, and he knows that. The way he played was fantastic.”
Regarding the first loss of the season, Fleming said, “Today’s result is a good reflection of the team’s performance. We were a little far tonight, we were slow in the first six overs of each inning. We lost a lot of runs in the first six.”