Rewriting history in domestic cricket's biggest extravaganza on Wednesday, MS Dhoni achieved a massive feat during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. One of the greatest players in the history of world cricket, CSK skipper Dhoni recorded his 200th appearance as the leader of the Yellow Brigade in the cash-rich league.
The CSK captain is the first player to lead a single IPL franchise in 200 matches. Dhoni, who has masterminded CSK's all four IPL titles, achieved the staggering feat when the Ranchi stalwart made his presence felt for the traditional coin toss at the Chepauk. Four-time winners Chennai are eyeing their second-straight win at home on matchday 17 of the IPL 2023. After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, CSK skipper Dhoni revealed that Chennai have made two major changes to their playing XI for the home game against the 2008 winners.
"We will bowl first. It maybe slightly on the slower side, different from the first game. Dew may play a role and it might get better in the second innings. (On his 200th game as CSK captain in the IPL) It feels good and also I feel the crowd has been fantastic. Also the fact that we started in the old stadium, it was very hot and humid. But now it feels like we're playing in Switzerland. It's good to play. We have seen cricket change - how T20 was played at that point of time till now, a lot has changed. The crowd has been fantastic. We have had injury concerns and players were unavailable, but still we have done well. Mitchell Santner and Pretorius make way for Theekshana and Moeen," CSK skipper Dhoni told former India head coach Ravi Shastri at the toss.
{{/usCountry}}"We will bowl first. It maybe slightly on the slower side, different from the first game. Dew may play a role and it might get better in the second innings. (On his 200th game as CSK captain in the IPL) It feels good and also I feel the crowd has been fantastic. Also the fact that we started in the old stadium, it was very hot and humid. But now it feels like we're playing in Switzerland. It's good to play. We have seen cricket change - how T20 was played at that point of time till now, a lot has changed. The crowd has been fantastic. We have had injury concerns and players were unavailable, but still we have done well. Mitchell Santner and Pretorius make way for Theekshana and Moeen," CSK skipper Dhoni told former India head coach Ravi Shastri at the toss.
{{/usCountry}}The 41-year-old is the most-capped player in the history of the IPL. Dhoni has played 214 matches as captain in the world's richest T20 league. CSK captain Dhoni is followed by Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma, who has captained the record-time winners in 146 games. Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli has captained the Bangalore heavyweights in 140 matches. Earlier, CSK icon Dhoni became the seventh player to complete 5,000 runs in the IPL. The Ranchi stalwart has smashed 5,004 runs in 238 IPL matches.