Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s finishing skills are still intact. Dhoni can still build on the momentum and take one of the fastest bowlers in international cricket. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper rolled back the years with two consecutive sixes off purple cap holder Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Mark Wood in the final over of the innings.
Dhoni walked out to bat at no.8 after Wood got the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja with the hard length. Dhoni did not waste time and flashed his blade at a delivery outside off stump. The ball flew over the third man fielder Ayush Badoni and landed near the advertising board. Wood followed in up with a bouncer. Dhoni hung back in the crease and deposited it over deep square leg boundary and into the crowd.
Dhoni tried to go for third six in a row but could not get it in the middle of the bat. Wood bowled the effort ball that clocked at 151.2 kmph. Dhoni threw his bat at it up got caught by Ravi Bishnoi at deep cover.
He contributed with a crucial cameo to help CSK post 217/7 against KL Rahul-led side. With the second six of his short innings, Dhoni also achieved a milestone. The 41-year-old became the seventh batter to score 5,000 or more runs in IPL history. Also, he is the first to score 5,000 IPL runs as wicketkeeper-batter.
“The crowd was pretty loud, really great atmosphere and watching MS go out there for the last over was pretty special,” opener Devon Conway told broadcasters after Dhoni's innings.
Dhoni has been in fine form in the season so far. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener, he entertained the crowd at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium with an unbeaten 14 off seven balls against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT).
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