KL Rahul was left stumped by MS Dhoni's impact on Friday, in Lucknow. Against Lucknow Super Giants, Dhoni came to bat in the final delivery of the first innings' 18th over. He ended up hammering an unbeaten knock of 28 runs off only nine balls, packed with three fours and two sixes, as CSK reached 176/6 in 20 overs.
Despite Dhoni's power-packed knock, it didn't prove to be enough as LSG reached 180/2 in 19 overs, in their chase of 177 runs. Speaking after the match, LSG captain Rahul marvelled at Dhoni's impact. In a conversation with Marcus Stoinis, he said, "It's one of those games, even though it is a home game, it feels like an away game because the kind of crowd CSK and the one man MSD pulls in. It is just phenomenal."
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Meanwhile, Rahul also defended his bowlers for leaking runs in the death overs against Dhoni. "160-165 would have been ideal, but again it is MSD. He walks in, and the pressure gets to the bowlers. That's the presence and intimidation that he's had over teams and oppositions and bowlers. We have a young team and this is the first time they were put under pressure by a huge figure like MS.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Rahul also defended his bowlers for leaking runs in the death overs against Dhoni. "160-165 would have been ideal, but again it is MSD. He walks in, and the pressure gets to the bowlers. That's the presence and intimidation that he's had over teams and oppositions and bowlers. We have a young team and this is the first time they were put under pressure by a huge figure like MS.
{{/usCountry}}"The crowd was really, really loud. But I still thought they stuck to the plans. But he is a phenomenal player, and still hit them for sixes. 15-20 runs extra, but we knew that if we bat well, we can chase the target," he said.
Wherever Dhoni has gone during IPL 2024, which is possibly his swansong year, the stadium has gone into a state of meltdown. Opposition teams have always been intimidated whenever the former CSK captain has walked up to bat this season, particularly due to the crowd going totally berserk.
After the defeat, CSK are third in the IPL 2024 points table with eight points in seven matches. Meanwhile, LSG are fifth with eight points.