‘Helicopter has landed’: MS Dhoni slams first IPL fifty since 2019

By: Sports DeskUpdated: March 27, 2022 12:59:38 am

MS Dhoni cleared any lingering doubts about his batting abilities at the Wankhede Stadium as he hit 7 boundaries and a six on his way to a half-century in the opening match of IPL 2022 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

This was the 24th IPL half-century for Dhoni, his first since April 21, 2019 (84* vs RCB). He had come to bat when his side was tottering at 61/5 and he unleashed his fury on the KKR bowlers, who up until that point, were dominating the CSK batting line-up.

Unburdened by captaincy, Dhoni smashed his first IPL fifty in nearly three years but Kolkata Knight Riders dished out a clinical bowling show to restrict Chennai Super Kings to 131/5

CSK crossed the 130-run mark thanks to Dhoni’s unbeaten 50 off 38 balls (7×4; 1×6) and skipper Ravindra Jadeja’s 26 not out off 28 balls (1×6).

All the balls of last 2 overs faced by Dhoni + his 50 highlights. pic.twitter.com/f0EQYMUyTw

— 𝕽𝖆𝖙𝖓𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖊𝖕 (@_ratna_deep) March 26, 2022

CSK had lost half of their side for 61 after Shivam Dube (3) gave a sitter to Sunil Narine at short-midwicket off pacer Andre Russell.

Then, Jadeja and Dhoni added 70 runs for the sixth wicket to take CSK to a respectable total. The past and present captain duo initially played a barrage of dot balls but Dhoni hammered three boundaries in the 18th over, in which CSK amassed 14 runs.

The Finisher MS Dhoni 🔥🔥#CSKvKKR#KKRvCSKpic.twitter.com/hDruGQljD8

— CRICKET VIDEOS 🏏 (@AbdullahNeaz) March 26, 2022

Showing glimpses of his famous match-finishing prowess, Dhoni fetched a boundary and a six in the penultimate over, from which CSK got 15 runs.

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The duo added 18 runs in the final over with Jadeja hitting a six off the final ball, as CSK added 74 runs in the final 10 overs.

First published on: 26-03-2022 at 09:59:55 pm Next Story

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