“To survive this long…”: MS Dhoni special message on reaching historic milestone for CSK in IPL

One of the greatest captains in the history of the sport, former Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni on Friday reached a milestone in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. When Dhoni took the field in Game 17 of IPL 2023 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), he led the franchise for the 200th time. . Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2020, was bought by CSK ahead of the first edition of the IPL in 2008.

Dhoni won the toss and chose to play against RR at M Chidambaram Stadium. “It will be a little slower,” Dhoni said. “There may be dew around. [to lead for 200th time]. The audience was fantastic. The new stadium is like playing in Switzerland. We have seen changes in cricket. It’s nice that we’ve survived this long and it’s a format we should continue to develop. It is important to get rid of errors at a later stage.”

Dhoni is the most consistent skipper in IPL history. He led CSK to four IPL titles (2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 editions). Although the Mumbai Indians (MI) have won five IPL trophies, the MS-led CSK enjoys the advantage of consistency. He led CSK to the final four stages of the tournament in 11 of 13 league games, with the team finishing second five times.

Before Wednesday’s match, Dhoni captained the IPL 213 times, of which he won 125 matches, lost 87 and lost one match. His winning percentage of 58.96 makes him one of the most successful IPL captains in the long run.

He also had one season as the skipper of the Rising Pune Supergiant, a team that had a temporary existence in the IPL from 2016 to 2017. He was only able to win five matches and lost nine of 14 in the 2016 season with the franchise, finishing in seventh place. on the scoreboard.

Ahead of Wednesday’s game, Dhoni led CSK in 199 out of 213 matches, winning 120, losing 78 and one with no result. His winning percentage with CSK as skipper is 60.30%.

Dhoni is also a successful IPL slugger, hitting 5004 runs in league history with a 39.09 average and over 135 strike rate. He has scored 24 half a century in his IPL career, with a best run of 84*.

(with ANI inputs)