Lucknow: The iconic MS Dhoni played a nice little cameo alongside Shivam Dube to guide Chennai Super Kings to a much-needed five-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and break their five-match losing streak in the IPL here on Monday.
Dhoni (26 not out off 11 balls; 4x4s, 1×6) and Dube (43 not out off 37 balls; 3x4s, 2x6s) shared a match-winning stand of 57 runs for the sixth wicket to chase down a target of 167 with three balls to spare.
This was after LSG skipper Rishabh Pant returned to form with a half-century to guide his side to 166 for seven.
After CSK’s opening partnership put them on course early, LSG dragged the game back with their spinners. Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, and part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram produced combined figures of 11-0-80-4, but a 19-run over from Shardul Thakur in the penultimate over ended LSG’s hopes.
When Dhoni walked in at the 15th over, Dube had made only 17 in his first 20 balls. Dube had failed to boss the spinners like his usual self, and the dismissals of Vijay Shankar and Jadeja had only added to the pressure.
But Dhoni enjoys pace, coming into the game with a strike rate of 222 against seamers since IPL 2024, and LSG supplied him with just that. Despite one over of Bishnoi left, LSG went for Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur, and their wide yorker plan to both batters ended up being predictable.
Dhoni edged a couple of fours down to deep third but showed his power by punching a boundary through the covers, flicking a full toss over midwicket, and dragging a one-handed six over deep square leg.
He also ran his ones and twos, sometimes gingerly, with Dube and took the pressure off him. When Shardul bowled two full tosses at the start of the 19th over, Dube smacked him for four and a no-ball six.
Dhoni picked up his first IPL player-of-the-match award since 2019 while Dube, soon after hitting the winning runs, said he was proud of taking the game deep. Their partnership of 57 came in only 28 balls.
Shaik Rasheed’s skills were never in doubt. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning vice-captain, has a Syed Mushtaq Ali century and a double ton in first-class cricket. It’s for those reasons CSK have kept a close eye on him since IPL 2023.
With Devon Conway not among the runs, CSK gave Rasheed an IPL debut, and he took strike to start the chase. By the second over, he had pumped three fours off Akash Deep, with one flick over midwicket described on the broadcast as “Virat Kohli-like.”
His 19-ball 27 with six fours helped CSK reach fifty in only 4.2 overs and, alongside Rachin Ravindra’s 22-ball 37, gave them a rare successful opening stand. Those runs proved crucial as a collapse against spin soon followed.
With a strike-rate of 80 and a high score of 21 this season, Pant needed to get going. He walked in in the fourth over with Markram and Nicholas Pooran out to Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj cheaply.
He started on a positive note, improvising a reverse lap over third man early for six, along with a handful of contorted pulls and cuts. But his strike-rate of 165 plummeted to 103 when CSK’s spinners applied the squeeze. Pant saw wickets fall from the other end and ended up playing ten dots in 15 balls against Noor, scoring only six runs. His strike rate of 40 against the purple-cap holder ended up being the second-worst for any batter against a bowler in IPL (minimum 15 balls).
However, from 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace-on options of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He couldn’t stay till the end, though, and the CSK spinners’ effort ensured LSG could make only 166 on a day where their second-highest individual score was Mitchell Marsh’s 30.
