New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): Chennai Super Kings (CSK) icon MS Dhoni became the fourth Indian batter to smash 350 sixes in the T20 format during their fixture against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dhoni scripted the milestone to his name in the 16th over of the first innings when Riyan Parag tried to outwit the Chennai captain with his round-arm and zig-zag movement. Dhoni remained unfazed, waited for the moment, and hammered it flat over Parag’s head with his brute force.
The 43-year-old became just the fourth Indian batter to achieve the feat after Rohit Sharma (542), Virat Kohli (434) and Suryakumar Yadav (368). Overall, the flamboyant Chris Gayle holds the record for most T20 maximums with a staggering tally of 1,056.
CSK’s veteran exploits ended on the penultimate delivery of the first innings. Dhoni powerfully paddled the low full toss, but Tushar Deshpande put his hands out at short fine, and the ball stayed stuck in them. With commentators trying to grasp Deshpande’s piece of magic, Dhoni, with a wry smile, walked back to the dressing room with 16(17).
Chennai’s innings was fuelled by Ayush Mhatre’s quick-fire 43 from a mere 20 deliveries. After the 17-year-old’s dismissal, CSK lost a couple of wickets in a cluster. Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis raised a 59-run partnership to pull Chennai back into the thick of the action.
When CSK showed signs of mounting a comeback, Akash Madhwal cleaned up Brevis (42) with a touch of late swing. Dube flexed his boundary-hitting prowess by dispatching the ball for a maximum but lost his wicket on the first ball of the last over to Akash.
Anshul Kamboj precisely found the boundary rope, and Noor Ahmad ran two on the final delivery to lift Chennai to 187/8, a couple of runs short considering the high-scoring nature of the Arun Jaitley Stadium. (ANI)
