Magic in the air: There’s a buzz when Dhoni walks to the crease.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Chennai Super Kings’ first residence match in 4 years towards Lucknow Super Giants on Monday was all about skipper M.S. Dhoni.
Much to the delight of the followers, the two sixes he hit in the final over of the CSK innings was the defining second. The Super King’s 12 runs additionally proved the profitable margin.
In a storied profession with quite a few titles and data, Dhoni’s second most took him to a different milestone — he turned the seventh batter to attain 5,000 runs in the IPL.
Special
Though there are 4 Indians for firm in the elite membership, Dhoni’s document is particular as he is the solely middle- to lower-order batter in the listing.
Also Read | MS Dhoni turns into first in world cricket to captain in 300 T20 video games
Among the different six — Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and A.B. de Villiers — solely the South African has been employed as a floater in the line-up whereas the others have largely performed in the prime 4.
Dhoni has principally batted at No. 5 or under for a significant a part of his IPL profession, strolling in with just some overs remaining. He has, nonetheless, scored at a wholesome strike-rate of 136 whereas averaging almost 40 (39.09).
Ever since his retirement from worldwide cricket in 2020, he has had modest returns over the final three IPLs.
During this era, CSK’s batting depth has additionally allowed the captain to loosen up as the crew is just not an excessive amount of depending on him.
At the similar time, Dhoni has made his presence felt, producing moments of magic the approach he did in Qualifier 1 towards Delhi Capitals in 2021 (18, 6b, 3×4, 1×6) to seal the chase.
This season, Dhoni has seemed fluent throughout his visits to the crease. In current occasions, the 41-year-old has been troubled by uncooked tempo and high quality spin.
But the undeniable fact that he put sufficient wooden towards the likes of Josh Little and Mark Wood — who each can clock above 140 kph — confirmed there’s sufficient left in the tank.
