It was the MS Dhoni at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday as the veteran Chennai Super Kings batter slammed 20 runs in just four deliveries during the IPL 2024 match against Mumbai Indians. Dhoni came out to bat with just four balls remaining in the CSK innings but he made the most of the situation as he slammed Hardik Pandya for three consecutive sixes. The crowd erupted with every big shot that Dhoni played and legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's daughter Sara Tendulkar was also left stunned by the explosive batting on display.
Coming to the match, Rohit Sharma scored a gritty century but it was all in vain as Chennai Super Kings won the match against Mumbai Indians by 20 runs. Rohit remained unbeaten on 105 but the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals and ultimately, they fell well short of the 207-run target.
Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube scored brilliant half-centuries before Dhoni provided the final flourish to take the CSK total beyond 200 on a pitch that had little to no help for the bowlers.
Gaikwad had an unique praise for Dhoni after the end of the match.
"The young wicketkeeper scoring those three sixes helped us a lot, that proved to be the difference. We needed those 10-15 extra runs for this kind of venue," he said at the presentation ceremony.
Even the MI captain Hardik Pandya acknowledged the importance of Dhoni in the CSK set up and pointed out that his presence ends up presenting a huge advantage to his team.
"They were smart with the plans and their approach. They got the hang of it, there's a man behind the stumps (Dhoni) who tells them what's working, that helps," the all-rounder remarked.