This IPL season, MS Dhoni has returned to form: Gregory Smith

By defeating the Delhi Capitals by 27 runs at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium, the Chennai Super Kings have moved closer to securing a playoff spot in the 2023 IPL. With six players scoring 20 or more runs, including a scorching 20 from MS Dhoni (9b, 1×4, 2×6), CSK’s balanced batting allowed them to score 167 runs.

Dhoni was joined in the 20-run club by Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, and Ravindra Jadeja, with Dube’s 25 runs being the most (12b, 3×6). With only 25 runs on the board, Delhi got off to a bad start, losing their Top-3. Rilee Rossouw managed to score 35 runs (37b, 2×4, 1×6), but she was unable to do it quickly enough to meet the goal.

Dhoni received a boisterous welcome from the CSK home supporters when he entered the field at Chepauk, where he scored 20 runs in only 9 balls. IPL specialist for JioCinema, Graeme Smith, acknowledged Dhoni’s extreme playing stress.

“Every time he bats, he is under tremendous strain. Every time he goes on strike, the crowd erupts in roars. He has returned to his best this season, which is amazing to witness. Before that over against MS, Khaleel was bowling pretty effectively, but he kind of read the action and put MS under pressure. You could just make out Khaleel once he hit that one on the ground; he didn’t believe he would succeed in starting it. That put pressure on him. With simply the impetus he and Jadeja provided in that inning, that 160 total produced pressure, and a 20 off 9 strike rate.

With this victory, Chennai can increase their season total of victories to seven, trailing the defending champions and top-ranked Gujarat Titans by just one point. Parthiv Patel, a JioCinema IPL expert, outlined what CSK should aim for to strengthen their qualifying.

We had talked about how a victory today would almost certainly secure their place in the playoffs, allowing them to concentrate on trying to place one or two. Finishing first or second will guarantee that they play a game in Chennai, therefore we might see Chennai participate in the finals once more. We are aware of their strategy here. As you can see from their batting tonight, Shivam Dube topped all scorers with 25 runs, while the next closest was 22 runs, yet the total was still 167. Everything seemed to be going well from the manner they bowled and fielded. The team might therefore seek to place first or second.

With only four victories in 11 games, Delhi Capitals are currently last in the PL, thereby eliminating their prospects of qualifying. Graeme Smith thinks their season is almost over, yet it’s still possible: “I think that they are gone. They had some momentum as a unit and needed to keep winning to have a shot. In my opinion, there are just too many other clubs that have the chance to reach 16 points, therefore Delhi, who has had a really dismal season, is in serious jeopardy in this competition.