Former Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni turned back the clock to his heydays when he smashed 20 runs from just four balls in his team's clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 14. Coming in to bat in the final over of the innings, the 42-year-old Dhoni provided the much-needed finish to the visitors to power them to over 200.
The fans were erupting when the former CSK skipper sent Hardik Pandya out of the park on three consecutive balls in the 20th over. Facing the first ball of the match on the third delivery of the final over, Dhoni first hit Hardik over long-off on a slower delivery outside off. He then clobbered the all-rounder over long-on on a fuller ball and reaped the rewards out of a full toss to hit another maximum over square leg. The 42-year-old ended his carnage with a double on the final ball to take CSK to 206/4.
This has helped Dhoni create a record which no Indian has managed to do. He has become the first Indian player to score three consecutive sixes to start the IPL innings. Overall he is the third player to achieve this rare milestone in the history of the Indian cash-rich league.
Players to hit three consecutive sixes to start their IPL innings:
1 - Sunil Narine: Three sixes for KKR vs RCB in 2021 in 12th over
2 - Nicholas Pooran: Three sixes for LSG vs SRH in 2023 in 16th over
3 - MS Dhoni: Three sixes for CSK vs MI in 2024 in 20th over
Dhoni's sixes probably proved to be the major difference in CSK winning the clash. Mumbai Indians have won in their last four run chases at the Wankhede Stadium before this but fell short to CSK by 20 runs. The Super Kings displayed a masterclass of defensive bowling with the pacers sending deliveries well outside the off and away from batters' reach in the latter part of the run-chase. Matheesha Pathirana was right on the money as he took four wickets for 28 on his comeback game after an injury break. Pathirana was also named the Player of the Match for his wily bowling that proved too hot to handle for the hosts after brilliant contributions from Ruturaj Gaikwad (69 runs from 40 balls), Shivam Dube (66 from 38) and Dhoni.
