MS Dhoni Six IPL 2023: CSK’s Thala Hits Two Consecutive Sixes off Mark Wood at Anbuden Stadium

Continuing from where he had left off in Indian Premier League 2023 season opener against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Friday, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni registered another impact-generating cameo in the ongoing match against Lucknow Super Giants at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Dhoni, who had hit a six and four each in his first representative match in the last 10 months, ended up hitting two sixes tonight. Coming in to bat at No. 8 with only five deliveries remaining in the innings, Dhoni’s no-nonsense approach provided a much-needed boost to the Super Kings as they finished with 217/7 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first by Super Giants captain KL Rahul.

Not the most convincing of shots, Dhoni’s attempt to slash a Mark Wood (3/49) delivery went all the way for a six over the third man region. Speaking of conviction, Dhoni’s second six left no doubts as he hooked Wood way back into the stands over the deep square leg area.

A ball which was bowled outside the off-stump, the 41-year old player managing to hit it towards a completely opposite side of the ground spoke highly of the manner in which he had timed the ball on this particular occasion. Dhoni, however, was out on the third ball that he faced as another slash off Wood landed straight into the hands of Ravi Bishnoi (3/28) at third man.

Dhoni scoring 12 (3) at a strike rate of 400 was enough for thousands of fans who were watching CSK’s first home match in almost four years. Dhoni, who had been insisting on playing at the Chepauk before retiring from the IPL for all this while, hitting back-to-back sixes provided an archetype reason for celebration for his super loyal fans.

MS Dhoni Six IPL 2023

MS Dhoni Total Runs in IPL Career

Dhoni’s three-ball stay also resulted in him becoming the seventh cricketer to score 5,000 runs in the IPL. Fifth Indian batter to do so, Dhoni has scored 5,004 runs across 208 innings at an average and strike rate of 39.09 and 135.53 respectively.