Returning from an illness that saw him miss the last Indian Premier League game, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a pivotal role in side’s dominant 80-run victory over the Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.
In an exciting contest against the top two sides on the points table, Dhoni first smacked an unbeaten 44 of 22 deliveries but the lightning-quick reflexes he displayed later on behind the wickets left everyone in awe. The 37-year-old snapped two stumpings in one over off Ravindra Jadeja to ensure that CSK were well on their way to the top of the table.
Read - CSK have got problems with their batting but they’ve also got a special dose of Dhoni
In the 11th over, Dhoni first sent Chris Morris back the pavilion for a first-ball duck, taking off the bails in a flash. Two balls later, he dismissed captain Shreyas Iyer, who had kept Delhi in the hunt till then with a 31-ball 44, in similar fashion.
In both cases, the batsmen had barely raised their foot for a second but Dhoni was quicker and whipped the bails off in that time. And no matter how many times we have seen him do just that in the past, it is always a delight to watch him with the gloves
Speaking about his stumpings after collecting the man-of-the-match award, Dhoni said it is a skill which he has developed from tennis ball cricket.
“I think it’s something that’s come from tennis ball cricket. But you still have to do the basics and graduate to that level. If you want to keep like that you can make mistakes; so I still think basics are most important,” he said.
Much as he makes wicketkeeping seem so easy, Dhoni’s fabulous glovework once again garnered appreciation from Twitter.
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