On this day in 2020: MS Dhoni becomes the first to feature in 200 IPL matches
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s international captaincy records are unparalleled, he is also a very accomplished IPL captain, having led the Chennai Super Kings to four IPL titles. He has been a part of CSK since the inaugural edition in 2008 barring the 2016 and 2017 seasons, when the franchise was suspended in the aftermath of the IPL spot-fixing scandal.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni is also one of the players to have made the most number of appearances in the Indian Premier League and it was on this very day in 2020 that he became the very first player to feature in 200 matches in the history of the marquee tournament.
When MS Dhoni made his 200th IPL appearance
The 2020 edition of the IPL was rescheduled in the UAE due to the coronavirus outbreak and that happened to be a forgettable season for CSK as they failed to make the playoffs for the very first time.
Even though the season was not good for the team collectively, Dhoni had a memorable one as far as personal milestones are concerned as he featured in his record 200th IPL match.
He achieved this feat when the Chennai Super Kings faced the inaugural edition’s winners Rajasthan Royals at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Luck smiled at Dhoni when he called it right at the toss and decided to bat first.
However, things did not go as planned as the veteran stumper’s decision backfired. The Rajasthan bowlers applied the stranglehold on the Chennai batters right from the word ‘go’ and they were reduced to 56/4 in the 10th over. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja then added a precious 51 runs for the fifth wicket on what seemed to be a tough batting surface.
The CSK skipper was run out for a run-a-ball 28 while Jadeja remained unbeaten till the end, scoring 35 runs off 30 balls as the Yellow Army were restricted to a below-par total of 125/5.
In reply, the Royals survived an early scare when they lost key wickets of Ben Stokes, Robin Uthappa, and Sanju Samson with just 28 runs on the board inside the Powerplay overs. Jos Buttler and skipper Steve Smith then ensured that there were no further hiccups as the duo’s unbeaten 98-run fifth wicket stand helped Rajasthan get past the finish line by seven wickets in the 18th over. Buttler remained unbeaten on 70 runs off 48 balls at an outstanding strike rate of 145.83 while Smith was not out on 26.
