The Indian Premier League season 16 got off to a brilliant start on Friday, March 31 as Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings locked horns at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The defending champions got their title defense off to a great start as they beat CSK by five wickets in the opening encounter. Ahead of the curtain-raiser of the tournament, there were reports claiming that Chennai captain MS Dhoni might miss the match due to a knee injury.
However, much to the delight of his fans, ‘Captain Cool’ made his appearance at the opening match and was given a grand welcome in the opening ceremony. The 41-year-old looked a bit uncomfortable in the second innings as he tried to stop a ball going down the leg side in the 19th over from Deepak Chahar.
Following CSK’s loss, head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that Dhoni had no issues with his knee in the first match but was suffering from cramps during Gujarat’s chase.
“He was always playing. Not sure where that story (doubtful for opener) came from. He was nursing a sore knee throughout the month of pre-season, but today (Friday) it was just cramps, it wasn’t the knee,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference.
The CSK captain gave a brilliant finish to the innings with his knock of 14* off 7 balls. He smacked one four and a six in his innings which sent the entire stadium into a frenzy. Courtesy of Dhoni’s knock, Chennai managed to post a total of 178/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
MS Dhoni is going to play his part even with the bat: Stephen Fleming
Commenting on Dhoni’s fitness, Fleming said that the wicketkeeper-batter won’t be as quick as he was 15 years ago but he’s still a valuable asset to the side and a legend of the game.
“He is not going to be as quick and nimble as he was 15 years ago, but he is still a great leader of the side and, even with the bat, he is still going to play a part. He knows his limitations and he is a valuable player to have on the field. He is a legend,” he added.
Gujarat Titans chased down the target of 179 in 19.2 overs as Shubman Gill played a brilliant knock of 63 off 36 balls. The 20-year-old Rajvardhan Hangargekar shone for CSK on his IPL debut as he picked up 3/36 in his four overs.