Courtesy: IPL
MS Dhoni, the Indian cricketing superstar, became the first player in history to feature in 200 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on October 19, 2020. During the IPL 2020 clash in the Chennai Super Kings colours, when captain MS Dhoni took the field against Rajasthan Royals at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, he achieved this major feat. Notably, before the start of the IPL four years ago, Suresh Raina was the highest capped player, but after he pulled out of the tournament, MS Dhoni etched his name in history by attaining the record of being the first player to 200 caps in the league.
For the unversed, this IPL 2020 clash between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals was played on a tricky pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in the bright lights without fans in attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic at the time. After winning the toss, MS Dhoni, the captain of CSK, decided to bat first, but their batting lineup didn’t start well. They lost the experienced duo of Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson quite cheaply in the power play, to fall behind the eight ball.
Sam Curran and Ambati Rayudu didn’t go big either as CSK found themselves in trouble at 56/4 in 10 overs in front of some exceptional bowling from Rajasthan Royals. But then, the experienced duo of Ravindra Jadeja (35* off 30) and MS Dhoni (25 off 25) put together a 51-run stand for the fifth wicket, to keep Chennai Super Kings in the contest before they ended up reaching 125/5 in their allotted overs. For Rajasthan Royals, Jofra Archer, Ankit Rajpoot, and Rahul Tewatia picked up a wicket each, while conceding runs at five per over or lower.
In the pursuit of the 126-run target, Rajasthan Royals were rocked early as they lost Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa, and Sanju Samson within the first five overs, to find themselves in some trouble at 28/3. But then, captain Steve Smith and Jos Buttler started to rebuild the RR innings amidst some quality bowling from the CSK pacers. While Smith (26* off 34) took the defensive option, Jos Buttler took the attack to the opposition with his unbeaten 70 off 48, which included seven fours and two maximums, to take their team over the line with seven wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare.
Moreover, the IPL 2020 didn’t quite go well for either CSK or RR as they finished in bottom two places in the eight-team tournament.
