On This Day in IPL History: MS Dhoni played his 200th match in 2020

On This Day in IPL History- MS Dhoni played his 200th match in 2020 (Source: Twitter)

The ICC events trophy collect aka alchemist, MS Dhoni, is undoubtedly considered one of the greatest skippers in both Indian and world cricket. Over the years, Dhoni has orchestrated some memorable victories with tactical acumen and a sharp cricket brain. As a result, he has been one of the most accoladed captains in the international arena and franchise cricket.

Notably, the Almora-born legend has captained one of the most successful franchises, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), for years in the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL). During his 16-year journey as a leader, his side emerged as the champions on five occasions. Given the number of titles, it is evident that Dhoni has featured in many matches. Remarkably enough, he is probably one of the only few cricketers who has been part of India’s biggest cricket fest since the inception of the IPL in 2008.

Hence, On This Day (October 19, 2020), four years ago, the legendary figure went to appear in his 200th IPL match. As a result, he became the first player to achieve the incredible landmark. Notably, he led CSK against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the historic game which took place at the renowned Sheikh Zayed Stadium, situated in Abu Dhabi.

Check out what Dhoni had to say on his 200th IPL game here:

Feel fortunate to have played for such a long time without many injuries – @msdhoni on playing his 200th IPL game.#Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/a9OIcXlocQ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 19, 2020

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Dhoni lost his landmark IPL game after Jos Buttler’s batting brilliance

Speaking of the game, the match in the first innings, as it turned out that the batters had a tough time scoring runs as CSK suffered an unlikely collapse. Chennai managed to put just 125 runs on the board. The then skipper, MS Dhoni, played sensibly and scored a vital 28 runs in as many balls to help CSK reach a total which gave the bowlers some chance in the middle to defend. The star of the side was Ravindra Jadeja who scored 35 runs and remained unbeaten.

However, Dhoni ended up losing his 200th game after CSK gave some early jolts to keep the side in the hunt. But Jos Buttler showed his ominous batting and smashed 70 runs off just 48 deliveries and was well complimented by the former RR skipper, Steve Smith, who scored 26. The duo remained unbeaten and stitched a 98-run partnership to sail the Royals side to a memorable win with 16 balls to spare.

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Consequently, CSK crashed out of the IPL as they failed to make it to the playoffs round, which was considered a rare sight when it comes to Dhoni leading from the front and ending up on the losing side. However, legends often know how to bounce back from a low and that’s what happened in the IPL 2021 edition, when ‘Mahi’, as he is fondly known, went on to lift the fourth IPL title for Chennai.

Besides, in the inaugural edition, MS Dhoni was bought for a whopping $USD 1.5 million after he started his world champion reign with Team India lifting the inaugural T20 World Cup title in South Africa a year before in 2007. After leading for many years, last year, Dhoni felt it was time to give a youngster a chance to don the leadership mantle and he will play as the mentor cum player for CSK. Ruturaj Gaikwad is currently the Captain of Chennai Super Kings. Interestingly, with new retention rules, it is still a mystery, how Dhoni will feature in the IPL 2025 after his vintage batting left the crowd mesmerized, last year.

In totality, MS Dhoni has played 264 matches in the IPL and has scored 5,243 runs while averaging 39.12. During these games, Dhoni has scored 5,243 runs at an average of 39.13, with the best score of 84*. Moreover, as a stumper behind the wickets, Dhoni inflicted 42 stumpings and took 152 catches, respectively.

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