It may not have been the outing with the bat for MS Dhoni, which the fans were hoping for in Dharamsala, however, the former CSK skipper and IPL legend did achieve a huge record in his name against the Punjab Kings on Sunday, May 5, this time in the field. Dhoni, who got out for a golden duck after walking out to bat at No 9 for the first time in his T20 career, became the only player in IPL history to get to 150 catches.
Dhoni achieved the feat after Jitesh Sharma hit a rising delivery from Simarjeet Singh straight into the hands of the keeper. Dhoni now has 146 catches as a wicketkeeper in the IPL and four as a fielder. Dinesh Karthik is second on the list with 144 grabs to his name, with 136 of them coming behind the stumps with the gloves. The third on the list is also a keeper-batter in AB de Villiers, who has 118 catches to his name in the tournament with 90 of them being as fielder.
Most catches in IPL
150 - MS Dhoni (146 as wk, 4 as fielder; CSK, RPS)
144 - Dinesh Karthik (136 as wk, 8 as fielder; RCB, DD, GL, KXIP, MI, KKR)
118 - AB de Villers (90 as fielder, 28 as wk; RCB, DD)
113 - Virat Kohli (RCB)
109 - Suresh Raina (CSK, GL)
It was a solid bowling effort from the Super Kings led by Ravindra Jadeja, with the likes of Tushar Deshpande, Mitchell Santner and Simarjeet Singh also doing their bit as the visitors defended a middling total of 167. It was a Jadeja show all through as he lifted his side's score with a 26-ball 43 and then took a three-fer with the ball to peg Punjab back, even further.
