Chennai Super Kings M.S. Dhoni plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on April 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

The fans are clamouring for MS Dhoni to move up the batting order. In an ideal world, the team management would also like it that way, and Brian Lara too feels the talisman should be asked, “would you like to bat higher?” But the West Indies great knows that the 42-year-old, whose ability to bat for extended periods has been restricted by a chronic knee problem, “won’t” consider a promotion in the batting order.

Besides the knee issue, Dhoni is also at a stage where he is looking to give the youngsters a chance to prove their mettle.

“It’s just brilliant. The question has to be asked would you like to bat higher? Because I can see he’s making valuable contributions. But there are a couple of losing causes as well. So, I think that should be a consideration,” Lara told Star Sports.

The Chennai Super Kings legend gave his team the much-needed impetus with a nine-ball 28 against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on April 19, one of the few entertaining cameos he has played this IPL season. CSK, though, lost the game by eight wickets after being stopped at 176/6.

Lara added, “At 42, he’s most likely thinking from the teams point of view, that the young guys got to do the job. But I think the middle of the innings told a little bit too much about CSK batting. And it created the fact that even though he exploded at the end and he did that Dhoni thing at the end and it still was not enough.

“So, I think they will have to go back to the drawing room. And realise that they need to be a little bit more aggressive throughout the innings. Because at the back end, you’ve got the man to come.

“And if he gets two three overs, as he did against Mumbai Indians. And propelled them above 200. They need to think about that all the time.” Against LSG, Dhoni slammed a four and a six off Mohsin Khan before smashing Yash Thakur for another maximum. He finished the innings with two more fours as 19 came off the last over.

Lara shared his thoughts on moments when Dhoni comes out to bat and the loud cheers it generates across venues.

“That’s the terrific part of the game. I’ve said it over and over again, when you have a guy aged 42, a legend, an icon in the game, someone who has played in the IPL for so many years and you don’t know when he’s going to say, hey, that’s it.

“He comes out to bat and I think it’s just a moment to savour and everyone is just going to feel amazing about this. It’s going to be a lot of emotions, but then he walks out and does the business,” Lara said.

“He may not have to look and say, ‘listen, I may have to go up the order because I may need a little bit more runs’. He has batted five, six times now and remained unbeaten. So, any team strategising would say, ‘well, obviously you have to go up’. But I don’t think he will.” CSK head coach Stephen Fleming had earlier claimed that the team isn’t surprised by what the former skipper has done with the bat this season, saying his skill level during pre-season was very high.

When the discussion turned to Dhoni’s fitness and running between the wickets, Lara said, “He’s still doing it today and let’s make sure that he’s on the park for all the matches in this IPL for CSK.

“But yeah, running between the wickets where he is aware of the situation and aware of that the matchup for him is just the correct matchup.

“And it just looked like when you look at the counter, there’s two umpires, 11 fielders, and a bowler, and then there’s these fans, and they all just look like spectators when he’s striking the ball.

“Fielders diving to his left, he can’t get it, fielders looking his head, he can’t get it. It’s just his show. He’s just scripted it so well.”

Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock, who made classy fifties on a slow pitch, produced a chasing masterclass to power Lucknow Super Giants to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match in Lucknow on April 19.

Asked to bat first, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a solid unbeaten 57 before Mooen Ali (30 off 20) and MS Dhoni (28 off 9) went on a six-hitting spree to take CSK to a fighting 176 for six.

In reply, Rahul (82) and De Kock (54) batted with authority during their match-winning alliance of 134, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as LSG scored 180 for 2 in 19 overs to recover from back-to-back loss and consolidate their position in the table.

CSK, who came into the match with twin wins, on the other hand, slumped to their third loss in this IPL.

Guilty of not capitalising on his starts, Rahul finally lived up to the expectations, smashing nine fours and three sixes in 53 balls, while De Kock overcame a scratchy start to hit five fours and a six in his 43-ball knock.

Chasing 177, Rahul was the aggressor as he played some magnificent strokes to give LSG a flying start.

The skipper was harsh on Deepak Chahar as he pulled the pacer for a six, before slapping him for another maximum over cover. He also hit him for a four off a slower delivery.

Rahul also produced a punch off the backfoot for a boundary off pacer Mustafizur Rahman as runs came thick and fast.

De Kock too smashed Tushar Deshpande for a maximum over deep midwicket as the powerplay yielded 54 for 0.

Rahul next sent a short-pitched ball from pacer Matheesha Pathirana over the third man for another maximum and the bowler was left further demoralised when he dropped De Kock’s catch at short third man off Jadeja in the ninth over.

After 10 overs, LSG were 89 for no loss.

Rahul notched up his 35th fifty with a four off Jadeja in the 11th over and then picked up another boundary to complete a 100-run opening stand with De Kock.

De Kock, who was subdued in the last three games, then reached his fifty in the 15th over with a single off Mustafizur, who removed him in the last ball.

However, Nicholas Pooran came out with all cylinders blazing, slamming Pathirana for a maximum, before sending Mustafizur on a leather hunt.

A one-handed catch from Jadeja finally ended Rahul’s fabulous knock but it was too late as Pooran (23 not out) and Marcus Stoinis (8 not out) knocked off the remaining runs.

Earlier, Rahul was spot on with his bowling changes as the pacers put the CSK batters under pressure initially before spinner Krunal Pandya tightened the noose in the middle overs.

Opener Rachin Ravindra’s (0) awful run continued as left-arm pacer Mohsin rattled his stumps, while Ruturaj Gaikwad (17) fell to Yash Thakur, who induced an outside edge from the CSK skipper.

Rahane (36), who opened the innings again, played some exquisite shots, pulling LSG debutant Matt Henry for the first six of their innings as 13 came off that over.

The Mumbaikar also carted two fours off Thakur to accumulate another 13 runs in the fifth over.

Jadeja, promoted to no. 4, picked a boundary off Henry in the next over as CSK scored 52 for 2 in the first six overs.

Owing to the slowness of the track, LSG skipper immediately introduced spinners Krunal and Bishnoi and the former struck in his second over, cleaning up Rahane.

CSK’s man-in-form Shivam Dube too failed to fire with Stoinis (1/7) justifying Rahul’s decision to hand over the ball to him, striking in his first ball as the left-handed batter sliced one up in the air.

Krunal then returned to dismiss impact player Sameer Rizvi, who paid the price for his premeditated dance down the track as CSK lost half their side with 90 on board.

Jadeja, who played some cracking sweep shots, held one end up and completed his fifty with a six off Mohsin to bring out his trademark sword-wielding celebration.

Rahul’s decision to give another over to Bishnoi, however, backfired as Moeen slammed three sixes as 19 came off the 18th over before perishing.

LSG paid the price for a sloppy overrate as Dhoni slammed a four and a six off Mohsin before smashing Thakur for another maximum. He finished the innings with two more fours as 19 came off the last over.

Scoreboard

Chennai Super Kings innings: Ajinkya Rahane b Pandya 36 Rachin Ravindra b Mohsin 0 Ruturaj Gaikwad (c) c Rahul b Thakur 17 Ravindra Jadeja not out 57 Shivam Dube c Rahul b Stoinis 3 Sameer Rizvi st Rahul b Pandya 1 Moeen Ali c Badoni b Bishnoi 30 MS Dhoni not out 28 Extras: (LB-1, W-3) 4

Total: (For 6 wickets in 20 overs) 176

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-33, 3-68, 4-87, 5-90, 6-141.

Lucknow Super Giants bowling: Matt Henry 3-0-26-0, Mohsin Khan 4-0-37-1, Yash Thakur 4-0-45-1, Krunal Pandya 3-0-16-2, Ravi Bishnoi 4-0-44-1, Marcus Stoinis 2-0-7-1.

Lucknow Super Giants innings: Quinton de Kock c Dhoni b Mustafizur 54 KL Rahul c Jadeja b Pathirana 82 Nicholas Pooran (not out) 23 Marcus Stoinis (not out) 8 Extras (LB-3, NB-1, W-9) 13

Total (2 wickets, 19 overs) 180

Fall of wickets: 1-134, 2-161.

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Deepak Chahar 3-0-26-0, Tushar Deshpande 4-0-42-0, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-43-1, Ravindra Jadeja 3-0-32-0, Matheesha Pathirana 3-0-29-1, Moeen Ali 1-0-5-0.

Chennai Super Kings Shivam Dube plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on April 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

An inspired collective bowling performance from its pacers, followed by Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram’s fireworks with the bat, ensured Sunrisers Hyderabad coasted to an easy six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Friday.

Sunrisers’s four-pronged pace attack restricted CSK to just 165 for five on a slow surface after electing to field. The Hyderabad bowlers quickly assessed the conditions, bowling into the pitch with a mix of cutters and slow bouncers, taking pace off their deliveries.

SRH vs CSK Live Score IPL 2024

Defending a modest total, Super Kings got off the wrong foot when Moeen Ali dropped Travis Head off the second ball at first slip. It was a sign of things to come as Abhishek tore apart the Chennai bowling attack in the PowerPlay with a 12-ball 37 (3×4, 4×6).

The left-hander smashed Mukesh Choudhary for three sixes and two boundaries as 27 came off the second over. He then hit Deepak Chahar for a six and four before the bowler got the better of him, but not before doing substantial damage. Travis Head (31) and Aiden Markram (50, 36b, 4×4, 1×6) then did not take their foot off the pedal as they made short work of the Chennai bowlers to take their team past 100 in the ninth over.

Though the defending champion fought back with three quick wickets, SRH was well ahead by then and got over the line with 11 balls to spare to get its second win. It was surprising why the CSK think-tank failed to employ the spinners — it had four in its ranks — earlier than it did.

Earlier, the Super Kings batters struggled for rhythm and played out 39 dot balls as Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept a tight leash on scoring.

Only Shivam Dube infused some life into his side’s batting effort with a quickfire 45 (24b, 2×4, 4×6). Dube got going by hitting Shahbaz for a six and four.

In the next over, he took on leggie Mayank Markande, clubbing him through covers for a four before a slog-swept six over square leg. He then hit left-arm pacer T. Natarajan for consecutive sixes over the leg side.

But once Cummins got Dube with a slow bouncer, the boundaries dried up as CSK managed just 38 off the last five and slumped to its second defeat.

Chennai Super Kings player M.S. Dhoni plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam on March 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

There are not many better than the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni when it comes to game awareness and that reflected in his maiden outing with the bat this IPL season, said Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming.

The margin of defeat for CSK’s first loss of the season would have been bigger than 20 runs if it was not for Dhoni’s unbeaten 37 off 16 balls at number eight.

Dhoni’s cameo against the Delhi Capitals included a thundering six over extra-cover before he unleashed a one handed maximum over mid-wicket in the 20th over.

The 42-year-old, who last played for India in 2019, had undergone a knee surgery last year.

“It was beautiful wasn’t it. He has been playing incredibly well pre-season. He is coming back from quite a serious injury. His batting has been superb. it gave us a positive vibe towards the end of a tough day.

“To get within 20 (runs of the target) run rate wise is important and he knows that. The way he played was spectacular,” said the former New Zealand captain at the post match press conference on Sunday.

On the first loss of the season, Fleming added: “The result today is a fair reflection of the team’s play tonight. We were a little bit off tonight, we were slow at start in the first six overs of each innings. We gave away too many runs in the first six when we bowled.

“When we batted, they were very good, created pressure and used the conditions very well. The little cameos from David Warner and Rishabh Pant pushed them to a very good score (191/5).”

Was waiting for a long time to perform: Khaleel

Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed’s burst with the new ball put CSK on the backfoot from the outset.

“I was waiting for a long time to perform for the team. When I started, I realised I was getting good swing, so I just backed it up and didn’t allow the opposition any chance,” said Ahmed.

“The more you play, the more you understand your game. The same happened with me as I have been playing continuously for six months, I got to understand my game plans, my body and managing to play in small niggles.

“It all came due to the domestic season, it gave me good confidence before coming into the IPL and it’s been a great feeling.”

Chennai Super Kings Rachin Ravindra. The CSK management were surprised at how easily they got Ravindra during the IPL auction for ₹1.8 crore
| Photo Credit: S.R. Raghunathan

When Chennai Super Kings got Rachin Ravindra for ₹1.8 crore last year, even the team management members at the auction table were surprised at how easily they got him.

The New Zealand all-rounder wasn’t expected to be in the starting XI, but an injury to compatriot Devon Conway meant he was thrown into the deep end immediately, and the 24-year-old has quickly delivered for the Super Kings. The opener set the innings up in the first two matches, at a brisk strike rate of more than 200 with eye-catching strokeplay.

“I guess the whole thing about being an opener is that you try to put a bit of pressure on the bowler in the PowerPlay when it stops swinging, and I have been able to do that for two games,” said Ravindra during a media interaction.

What was more impressive about his performance was that he came into the IPL after playing Tests against Australia back home and quickly found his feet.

“It was just about trying to do what I do well in terms of training and being specific about it,” said Ravindra about his preparations. “I adjust slightly between formats in terms of my intent, whereas my positions and the balls I am trying to access are quite similar.”

Though he started his career as a lower-order bat, the left-hander’s graph rose during the ODI World Cup last year, where he scored 578 runs when he was promoted up the order.

When asked if being an opener has unlocked his potential, Ravindra said, “Yes and no. I think it’s just a lot more comfortable being at the top. But I guess during the World Cup, you get an opportunity where you play your shots, and you are like, this is maybe a part of my game.

“I took a lot of confidence from that and was able to execute some shots that I had been training but hadn’t used in a game before. So yeah, I guess, a bit of that, but I think it’s more about getting time in the middle and the confidence to do that on the big stages.”