Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the second batter to score 6,000 runs or more as captain in T20 cricket. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper crossed the 6,000-run mark with an unbeaten 21-run knock against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on May 8.
The first captain to score 6,000 runs in T20 cricket is Virat Kohli. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper has 6,451 runs. Dhoni now has 6,017 runs to his name while leading the team. Nowhere is near the two legends of the game on the list. Rohit Sharma has 4,764 runs followed by Aaron Finch (4,603 runs) and Gautam Gambhir (4,242 runs).
Dhoni came in to bat at no.5 in the 18th over of the innings. The 40-year-old went all guns blazing and scored 21 runs from just eight deliveries including one four and two sixes. The cameo helped CSK post a daunting total of 208/6 against Rishabh Pant-led side.
Dhoni would not have achieved the milestone had it not been for CSK’s rough patch under the captaincy of Ravindra Jadeja. Few days before the commencement of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Dhoni handed over the captaincy Jadeja. However, after six losses from eight games, Dhoni was made captain of the side again.
This was Dhoni's first impactful knock since taking over the captaincy. He came in to bat at no.3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) but scored eight runs in slog overs. In the previous game, he scored just two runs in the run chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as required run rate was too high to deal in singles and play the ball on its merit.
So far, Dhoni has scored 163 runs from 11 games at an average of 32.60 including one half-century. He has scored at a strike rate of 139.32.
