The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans at Chepauk roared in unison when Yash Dayal rattled Shivam Dube’s timber in the 13th over. Despite being one of the most loyal fan bases, why would CSK cheer when their player gets out? Well, they were ready for MS Dhoni to enter the battlefield. But sadly, the Chepauk crowd were left disappointed as Dhoni decided to bat as low as number nine during a tricky run-chase against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Ashwin over Dhoni?
CSK were in dire straits at 80/6, chasing 197. Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube all batted before Dhoni, and when Dube got out, we all though surely it would be the CSK icon to come out. Instead, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side sent Ravichandran Ashwin. While Dhoni has been making a conscious effort to bat as less he can ever since his knee surgery in 2023, he should’ve definitely come out to bat. After all, the Impact Player rule is helping him play as a specialist keeper and a batter.
With him being one of the best chasing batters in IPL history (with an average almost 50), CSK could’ve helped more having Dhoni in the middle. The match was surely gone when CSK lost six wickets for 81 runs after 13 overs. They needed 116 more runs in last 42 balls. Dhoni might not have pulled off a heist, but being a much more capable hitter, CSK and CSK fans needed him at number eight!
Instead, they got Dhoni playing out the entire 20 overs to help CSK not to botch their Net Run Rate (NRR). Regardless, the fans saw Dhoni hitting some inconsequential blows with their enigma hitting 30* off 16.
MS Dhoni’s IPL stats (by batting position)
| Position | Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 2 | 13 | 6 | 0 | – | 216.7 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | 8 | 196 | 157 | 6 | 32.7 | 124.8 | 58 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | 66 | 1,559 | 1,130 | 43 | 36.3 | 138.0 | 67 | 5 | 62 |
| 5 | 73 | 1,955 | 1,353 | 41 | 47.7 | 144.5 | 79 | 11 | 96 |
| 6 | 48 | 961 | 798 | 29 | 33.1 | 120.4 | 84 | 5 | 51 |
| 7 | 21 | 361 | 280 | 11 | 32.8 | 128.9 | 63 | 2 | 19 |
| 8 | 10 | 197 | 89 | 3 | 65.7 | 221.3 | 37 | 0 | 17 |
| 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 229 | 5,242 | 3,814 | 134 | 39.1 | 137.4 | 84 | 24 | 252 |
