IPL 2020: ‘Thala’ Dhoni stages winning return, records 100 wins as captain for CSK

New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings’ skipper MS Dhoni announced his return to cricket by recording 100 wins for his franchise on Saturday. CSK defeated Mumbai Indians by five wickets on Saturday in the opening match of the IPL 2020. With this, Dhoni became the first skipper in IPL to record 100 wins as the leader of a franchise.

CSK had been on a five-match losing streak against Mumbai, but after winning the match on Saturday, the Dhoni-led franchise finally gained a victory over the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians.

Dhoni returned to the cricket field after 437 days as he last played a match during the 2019 World Cup. He had last played against New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 50-over tournament in July last year.

100 wins as @ChennaiIPL Captain for @msdhoni 👏#Dream11IPL #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/jZ91EcCJyF

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 19, 2020

The former India skipper had announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 this year.

“We may practice enough but when you go on the field you need to assess the conditions and give it your best. It took us time for the bowlers to find the right length on this pitch. Plenty of positives but still plenty of areas for us to improve,” Dhoni said after the match against Mumbai Indians.

“In the second half, there is a bit of movement for the bowlers until the dew sets in. If you don’t lose wickets early, you have the upper hand. These are the learnings. Rayudu had a wonderful partnership with Faf. Most of us are retired so luckily no injuries as well. The experience pays off, everyone talks about it,” he added.

Half-centuries from Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu propel #ChennaiSuperKings to a 5 wicket win in the season opener of #Dream11IPL

Scorecard – https://t.co/HAaPi3BpDG #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/6ebpiThrja

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 19, 2020

In the match against Mumbai Indians, Dhoni faced just two balls and he remained unbeaten on 0. The wicket-keeper batsman was given out on the first ball he faced, but the CSK skipper opted for a review (DRS).

The replays clearly showed that Dhoni had not edged the ball to the wicket-keeper off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah and as a result, the umpire had to overturn his decision and Dhoni remained at the crease.

While chasing 163 against Mumbai Indians, CSK skipper Dhoni had promoted Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran ahead of him and as a result, the English batsman went on to play a cameo of 18 runs off just 6 balls to put the side in a comfortable position.

In the end, Faf du Plessis and Dhoni guided CSK to a five-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi. For CSK, Ambati Rayudu played a match-winning knock of 71 while Faf du Plessis scored an unbeaten 58. For Mumbai, Pattinson returned with the best figures of 1-27 from his quota of four overs.

CSK will next lock horns with Rajasthan Royals on September 22 while Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai will face Kolkata Knight Riders on September 23.