Coming in the 18th over, MS Dhoni blasted 28 runs in just nine balls with the help of three fours and two sixes to power Chennai Super Kings to 176/6.
New Delhi: MS Dhoni unlocked another milestone to his name as he became the first wicketkeeper to score 5000-plus runs in the history of Indian Premier League, during Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) match against Lucknow Super Giants on Friday at the Ekana Stadium. Coming in at the fall of Moeen Ali in the 18th over, Dhon blasted a nine-ball 28 not out with the help of three fours and two sixes to send the crowd into a frenzy. Riding on Dhoni’s unbeaten knock, CSK posted 176/6 on a challenging track.
The former CSK captain now has 5023 runs to his kitty. Dinesh Karthik, who plays for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is second on the list with 4369 runs. Ravindra Jadeja also slammed five fours and a six to anchor the innings after a top and middle-order batting failure but Moeen Ali (30 off 20) and Dhoni swung the momentum back with a late charge after the 16th over to take them to a fighting total.
Earlier, opting to bowl, KL Rahul was spot on with his bowling changes as the pacers put the CSK batters under pressure initially before spinner Krunal Pandya tightened the noose in the middle overs. But Ali’s three sixes off Ravi Bishnoi (1/44) and Mohsin Khan’s 19th over which yielded 15 overs, and a 19-run 20th over handed the initiative back to CSK. The last four overs yielded 63.
Meanwhile, LSG made one change as New Zealand pacer Matt Henry replaced his West Indian counterpart Shamar Joseph. Defending champions, CSK, also made two changes to their eleven with Moeen Ali coming in for Daryl Mitchell and Deepak Chahar walking in for Shardul Thakur.
Meanwhile, just like the previous games, Dhoni entered the ground amidst huge cheer from the crowd that had turned yellow for the game. Staistically, Dhoni had scored 772 runs in the 20th over in the IPL, facing 313 balls with a strike rate of 246.64. During the 20th overs in IPL, Dhoni had hit 53 fours and 65 sixes. In 20th overs of IPL 2024, Dhoni has scored 57 runs in 16 balls with four fours and four sixes.