Credit: X/IPL
A fter KL Rahul helped steer Lucknow Super Giants to a big win over Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in the IPL 2024, he spoke about the impact of MS Dhoni in general during the post-match presentation. KL Rahul remarked that whenever MS Dhoni walks to the crease, he has the "presence and intimidation" of the bowlers.
For the unversed, after KL Rahul, the captain of Lucknow Super Giants, put the opposition into batting first, they removed the likes of the Chennai Super Kings captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rachin Ravindra. When Ajinkya Rahane lost his wicket for 36 off 24, followed by Shivam Dube and Sameer Rizvi walking back to the pavilion in quick succession, CSK were in some trouble.
But, it was the steady fifty from Ravindra Jadeja, along with 30 off 20 from Moeen Ali with three maximums, that provided the much-needed impetus to the Chennai Super Kings innings. The final flourish came from MS Dhoni, who scored 28 off just 9, which included three fours and two maximums, to help propel CSK to a competitive score of 176/6.
After KL Rahul scored 82 off 53, with nine fours and three maximums in a successful run chase, becoming the player of the match, he detailed the pitch conditions at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow during the post-match press conference, and said, “I would have been happy with 160. Behind the stumps, felt like the wicket was a bit slow, there was a bit of grip, not too much, but it wasn’t a square turner. But there was a bit of help for the spinners. 160-165 would have been ideal.”
MS Dhoni walks in, and the pressure gets to the bowlers: KL Rahul
The captain of Lucknow Super Giants also heaped praise on MS Dhoni for putting the bowlers under pressure with his sheer presence and the intimidation factor, and stated, “It’s MSD. He walks in, and the pressure gets to the bowlers. That’s the presence and intimidation that he’s had over teams and oppositions and bowlers.”
“We have a young team and this is the first time they were put under pressure by a huge figure like MS. The crowd was really, really loud. But I still thought they stuck to the plans. But he is a phenomenal player to still hit them for sixes. 15-20 runs extra, but we knew that if we bat well, we can chase the target,” KL Rahul added.
Here is the clip of KL Rahul praising MS Dhoni: