MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings made a special return to Chepauk after 4 years. In front of adoring home fans on Monday, CSK smashed 217 for 7 off their 20 overs and defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 12 runs to secure their first points of the season.
Chennai Super Kings batters, including special cameo by Dhoni, made the most of the batting that came to them first after Lucknow Super Giants chose to bowl first after winning the toss. During the after-match ceremony, LSG skipper KL Rahul did admit that the team made certain mistakes.
Chennai Super Kings felt it right through Monday evening. When Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway got them off to a supersonic start, the whistles refused to die down. When Shivam Dube and Moeen Ali stalled in the middle-overs, they began chanting the former’s name as he responded with three sixes that swung momentum Chennai’s way again.
WATCH: The crowd chants their Thalas’ name as MS Dhoni arrives to bat at Chepauk
As Lucknow kept chipping away with wickets, they chanted “we want Dhoni” before giving collective sigh. When Dhoni finally arrived in the last over, they cleared their throat for the good. Or so you thought. But as he smashed a six off Mark Wood’s 149 kmph – reminiscent of the one off Nuwan Kulasekhara at the Wankhede on April 2, 2011 – it reached a crescendo.
Surely, it can’t get louder than this? A ball later, you had the answer as Wood sent in a bouncer – a delivery that has troubled a lot of batters around the world — wide of off stump, and the 41-year-old Dhoni, deposited way into the stands with a pull. Off the next, Dhoni perished, but the 35,000 fans had got what they had paid for.
Moreover, Dhoni became the seventh player in IPL to complete 5,000 runs. Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and AB de Villiers are the other members of the elite club.
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