MS Dhoni had already created history when he stepped out on the playing field for some competitive cricket after 436 days. When he took the catch of Kieron Pollard off Lungi Ngidi, he became the first wicketkeeper to effect 250 dismissals in Twenty20 cricket. However, when Chennai Super Kings registered a five-wicket win against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi, Dhoni reached a different pedestal altogether. The win against Rohit Sharma’s side was Dhoni’s 100th win for Chennai Super Kings as captain.
MS Dhoni is the only captain in the history of the IPL to win 100 games for one franchise. He has won five games for Rising Pune Supergiant when he was there in the side for 2016 and 2017. Under Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings have reached the play-offs in every edition that they have featured and he has also won three IPL trophies, second only to the Mumbai Indians.
History-maker
Dhoni’s twin feats of 250 dismissals as a keeper in T20s as well as this 100th win as a captain for one franchise have all summed up the greatness of the Chennai Super Kings skipper.
In the game against Mumbai Indians, Saurabh Tiwary and Hardik Pandya were looking dangerous but two brilliant catches by Faf du Plessis ensured Mumbai Indians would be restricted to 162/9. Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis, aided by cameos from Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran helped Chennai Super Kings chase the total down with four balls to spare.
Talking about the match, Stephen Fleming in the post-match press conference said Chennai Super Kings would be looking to play both Curran and Dwayne Bravo once the all-rounder regains fitness.
“We haven’t looked too far ahead, Dwayne Bravo arrived here with us injured, so he is probably out for the first couple of games. But Sam Curran’s performance was extremely positive and that is why we bought him in the auction. His attitude is quite infectious and his performances today were outstanding. If Dwayne was fit, there would have been a toss-up whether he played at all, so Curran has taken his opportunity but we may have also look at playing both Curran and Bravo across different conditions in the UAE, we would be needed to use our full squad if we want to stay competitive,” said Fleming during the post-match press conference.
