MS Dhoni
On the day of the 13th anniversary of his captaincy debut for Chennai Super Kings, Mahendra Singh Dhoni scripted a world record as he took the field in the IPL 2021 game against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
On April 19, 2008, Dhoni had donned the Chennai yellow for the first time in his career, while leading the side to a 33-run win against Kings XI Punjab in Chandigarh. 13 years hence, Dhoni is captaining the same side for the 200th time, becoming the first-ever captain in T20 cricket to lead a single side or franchise in 200 games. Virat Kohli, the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, stands second with 128 appearances as captain for the franchise.
In 200 games as captain, which includes matches in the presently-defunct Champions League T20, CSK have won 120 matches and lost 77. Overall, he has played as a skipper in 286 T20 matches, which includes 72 for the Indian cricket team and the remaining 16 for the Rising Pune Supergiants.
Talking about the game, Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl first in Mumbai. Every side that have won the toss in Mumbai have opted to chase and four of those five matches have ended in favour of the toss-winning side.
"No changes for us. Same team. Getting out on good deliveries is okay. Last year would have taught him (Ruturaj) on the highs and lows. As support staff, you can motivate all you want but once you are out there, you are on your own. The pitch looks a bit tacky to start with. Needs to assess things as it comes and also need to keep an eye out on the dew," said Dhoni.
Both teams fielded an unchanged playing XI for the game.
