As MS Dhoni winds down his playing days, he keeps showing us he’s still got it. This past Monday, the Chennai Super Kings captain made headlines again by becoming the oldest player in IPL history to snag the player-of-the-match award, breaking the record previously held by Pravin Tambe. At 43 years and 280 days old, Dhoni received the award for his all-around performance. He made three crucial dismissals and also put on a dazzling display with the bat, scoring an impressive 26 runs off just 11 balls to help CSK clinch a five-wicket victory against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Before Dhoni’s achievement, Pravin Tambe held the record for winning the award at the age of 42 years and 208 days back in 2014. Interestingly, Dhoni was a bit surprised to get the award this time, thinking it might have been more suitable for Noor Ahmad, who bowled a tight spell giving away only 13 runs in his four overs. This match marked the first time since 2029 that Dhoni received the player-of-the-match honor.
On the stats front, Dhoni continues to extend his lead in the number of player-of-the-match awards won by a captain in IPL history. He’s now got a total of 17 such awards, while Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir sit tied in second place with 13 each. When looking at all Indian players, Dhoni is tied for second with Virat Kohli, as both have won the award 18 times. Rohit leads this pack with 19 awards to his name.
In this match, after winning the toss and opting to bowl first, CSK managed to limit LSG to a score of 166/7, thanks partly to a solid half-century from their captain Rishabh Pant, who found his footing after a rough patch at the start of the season. Pant scored 63 runs off 49 balls, hitting four fours and four sixes, showcasing his talent.
As CSK chased down the target, they got off to a great start thanks to debutant Shaik Rasheed, who scored 27 runs off just 19 balls. Alongside Rachin Ravindra, who scored 37 off 22, they put together a promising first-wicket partnership of 52 runs. Although CSK faced a bit of wobbly ground in the middle of their innings, Shivam Dube’s unbeaten 43, along with Dhoni’s quick-fire innings, saw them to victory.
After the game, Dhoni took the opportunity to address his batting group, encouraging them to step their game up a bit. He mentioned that while the bowling team had been performing admirably, there was definitely room for improvement on the batting side. “As a bowling unit we’ve done well. As a batting unit, we can do better,” he said during the post-match talk. It’s clear that for Dhoni, the drive to improve remains as strong as ever, even toward the end of his remarkable career.
