Legendary Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni smacked back-to-back sixes off Mark Wood in the final over of their clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to guide his team to a total of 216 at the end of 20 overs.
It was a short but mesmerising assault by Dhoni who is adored in Chennai. You generally do not hear the cheer of home fans when a wicket falls off their own team but Ravindra Jadeja's dismissal was followed by a deafening roar at the Chepauk as it was time for some Mahi-magic in the middle.
Dhoni's return to the Chepauk after a hiatus of 1427 days started off with a maximum as he picked Wood's length ball quite early and cleared the third-man boundary with a wild slash of the bat.
The next ball was a bouncer but was meted out the same treatment. This time he chose to whack it over deep over square leg into the second tier of the Chepauk.
MORE: How to watch IPL 2023 season online and on TV | Full list of players, teams for IPL 2023
How many runs has MS Dhoni scored in the IPL?
With that short innings against LSG on Monday, Dhoni completed the 5000 runs milestone in his 236th IPL appearance. He now has 5004 runs to his name in the IPL, scored at an average of 39.09 and a strike rate of 135.54.
Q: Is there any sound louder than the cheers when #MSDhoni walks into bat at Chepauk?
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 3, 2023
A: The cheers when he hits a boundary 😅#CSKvLSG #IPLonJioCinema #TATAIPL | @ChennaiIPL @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/ZFhphYmMqp
Although Wood had the last laugh, after Dhoni was caught by Ravi Bishnoi in the third ball he faced, the damage was already done. He finished his brief but belligerent innings of 12 off three with a strike rate of 400!
MORE: Latest betting odds for IPL 2023
How many batsmen have scored 5000 runs in the IPL?
Dhoni joined an elite league of batsmen who have completed 5000 IPL runs. Here is the list of batsmen to have achieved the impressive feat:
- Virat Kohli - 6706*
- Shikhar Dhawan - 6284*
- David Warner - 5937*
- Rohit Sharma - 5880*
- Suresh Raina - 5528
- AB de Villiers - 5162
- MS Dhoni - 5004*
* denotes players still active in the IPL
When will Chennai Super Kings play next?
CSK will be back in action against Mumbai Indians on April 8 at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
