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.
MS Dhoni and stumpings, a match made in heaven 😍 pic.twitter.com/32a3w6wMrA
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 1, 2019
Dhoni and the stumpings. A spinner's love story.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 1, 2019
MS Dhoni’s hands should be the official logo for the bullet train 🙌
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) May 1, 2019
Along with the Dhoni stumping, excellent television work with that last angle from ground level to confirm stumping of Shreyas Iyer.👏👏👍👍#starsportsIndia #bccitv
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) May 1, 2019
. @KeeperCourt @WK_Union please tell me you’re watching Dhoni’s glovework...!!!!!! He is just so good 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Sam Billings (@sambillings) May 1, 2019
MS DHONI 😱🔥 - embarrassing all the other keepers around the 🌍 , how do you do it sir ? #goat
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) May 1, 2019
#Thala Dhoni masterclass on lightning strikes! #WhistlePodu #Yellove #CSKvDC 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/7l3P4OldP3
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 1, 2019
When the batsman lifts his leg for a fraction of a second.
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) May 1, 2019
1. Bowler
2. Dhoni pic.twitter.com/h1cvz8mYGP
Dhoni not just the player of the match, the player for the season for @ChennaiIPL for me by miles. What a big difference he makes. Amazing #CSKvDC
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) May 1, 2019
24 frames per second and one and only frame in which the batsman has his leg in air, MS Dhoni stumps. SKILL BEYOND QUANTUM PHYSICS. pic.twitter.com/W2oZ9Gv6Xl
— Neeche Se Topper (@NeecheSeTopper) May 1, 2019
Not the best of days for us but will come back stronger from this one. Thought Raina batted really well and MS Dhoni showed his class again with bat and gloves. Kudos to the fantastic @ChennaiIPL crowd , they are unbelievable #CSKvDC
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 1, 2019
Foot in the air for 1 sec
— DHONIsm™ ❤️ (@DHONIism) May 1, 2019
.
And
.
Stumped By MS Dhoni 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LSstdZhVXj
He will stump you even with a walking stick! #Dhoni @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/MmTA0OTBUs
— ShiVa Sha (@iamShiVaSha) May 1, 2019
What a stump!!!!!! Beautiful!!! These thing change the match when dhoni is there!!!! Pant need to learn from dhoni a lot how game a player make!!! @samiprajguru #CSKvsDC
— Vivek Regmi (@rv_regmi) May 1, 2019
The greatest ever burglar behind the stumps, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. #CSKvDC pic.twitter.com/YbUshEtd7P
— Stump.Microphone (@MicrophoneStump) May 1, 2019
Dhoni is the real Thanos Killing Machine..
— Chowkidar Indian (@ROFL_India) May 1, 2019
He can even stump Gods across religions.. #CSKvDC pic.twitter.com/xnYBqVedMC
Dhoni probably can stump you while handcuffed, high on weed and blindfolded. #IPL2019
— cricBC (@cricBC) May 1, 2019