After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost by 50 runs to their rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), there’s been quite a bit of talk about MS Dhoni’s position in the batting order. Dhoni, who batted at number 9, scored a quick 30 runs off 16 balls, but it didn’t really matter since RCB won comfortably. Fans and analysts are questioning why the 43-year-old came in behind players like Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Ravichandran Ashwin, especially since he hasn’t been batting much in recent seasons.
Looking back, it probably wouldn’t have changed much if he batted at number 8. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag joked about Dhoni’s early appearance at the crease during a chat on Cricbuzz. He quipped that Dhoni usually prefers to bat at the end of the innings. Jaldi aa gaye na? (He came out to bat early), Sehwag said, leading to a good laugh.
Manoj Tiwary, another former player in the chat, chimed in, mentioning that Dhoni usually comes in around the 19th or 20th over, so it was unusual to see him at the crease earlier. Sehwag pointed out that either Dhoni came in early, or the other batters lost their wickets too quickly.
In the end, Dhoni gave the crowd something to cheer about, hitting three fours and two sixes in the final over against Krunal Pandya. On Friday, he also became the highest run-scorer for CSK, surpassing Suresh Raina’s record. Dhoni now has 4,699 runs in 204 innings at an average of 40.50 and a strike rate of 139.43, while Raina finished with 4,687 runs in 171 innings. Other players on the list include Faf Du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ravindra Jadeja. Gaikwad and Jadeja are still with the team, while Du Plessis is now with Delhi Capitals as vice-captain this season.
