Chennai Super Kings' captain MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni had to walk back on a duck in his side's opening fixture against Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Dhoni, who returned to the sport after almost six months, was castled by pacer Avesh Khan in the 16th over of the match.
In an attempt to pull Khan's delivery, Dhoni's short-lived stay at the crease came to a halt. The ball kissed his bat's under-edge to crash straight into the stumps.
This was Dhoni's fourth duck in IPL history. His previous four noughts were against Rajasthan Royals (2010), Delhi Daredevils (2010) and Mumbai Indians (2015). This is also the 39-year-old's first duck in the T20 format since 2015.
Most consecutive innings without a duck in T20s:
- 145 - Chris Gayle (2012-2016)
- 108 - MS Dhoni (2015-2020)
- 107 - Dinesh Chandimal (2009-2020)
- 102 - Shaun Marsh (2012-2019)
- 101 - JP Duminy (2014-2019)
CSK did not fare well in the last IPL, failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time ever. Dhoni himself had a below-par season with the bat, managing to score just 200 runs in 14 games at an average of 25.
Dhoni, however, had made it clear in CSK's last IPL 2020 fixture that it was 'definitely not' his last appearance in the yellow jersey. Chennai will be playing their first five games in Mumbai, before playing their next four at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla.
Meanwhile, it was Suresh Raina who returned to form with a sublime half-century. The left-hander, who had opted out of IPL 2020 citing personal reasons, scored a 54-run knock as CSK posted 188/7 in 20 overs against the Delhi bowling unit.
"It's always a good feeling to be back playing with CSK. We had a good partnership, the intent was to be positive and I'm glad to have got runs. This has been a happy hunting ground, I have been working hard," said Raina on his innings.
