Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Ekana Cricket Stadium in the 45th Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) match on Wednesday, May 3. Dhoni triggered the atmosphere as he declined to confirm his retirement after IPL 2023.
During the toss, Danny Morrison teased the CSK skipper with a question "How you're enjoying your last season?" Dhoni was quick to reply, “You’ve decided that it’s my last season, not me.” Danny then announced that Dhoni is returning back in the next edition and the duo shook hands on that.
Dhoni, 41, is yet to confirm his plans for the next season as the cricket fraternity continues to guess over the former Indian skipper's retirement plan. Fans are pouring stands this season to display their love and support for Dhoni as many are predicting that the player is featuring for the last time in IPL. CSK are placed in the fourth position in the points table with five wins from nine games in IPL 2023 with Dhoni smashing 74 runs from six innings at a strike rate of 211.42 so far.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings welcomed back star pacer Deepak Chahar, who replaced Akash Singh while Mohsin Khan returned for Lucknow Super Giants to feature in his first match this season. Young batting all-rounder Karan Sharma also came in for LSG while Manan Vohra replaced injured skipper KL Rahul to open an innings with Kyle Mayers.
LSG Playing XI: Manan Vohra, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya (c), Karan Sharma, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, K Gowtham, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan
CSK Playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
