Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday became the first wicketkeeper to affect 150 dismissals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
KKR’s former skipper Dinesh Karthik is the next-best wicketkeeper on the list behind Dhoni with 112 catches and 31 stumpings.
Dhoni achieved another first in the same match but with the bat in hand when he hit Sunil Narine for a four off a free hit in the 17th over of Chennai’s innings.
It was the first time in IPL history that Dhoni managed to hit a boundary against the West Indian mystery spinner, taking 65 deliveries to date to achieve the feat.
Meanwhile, Andre Russell scored a half-century off 21 balls but was bowled by Sam Curran as Kolkata Knight Riders lost their six wickets in chase of 221. KKR were five wickets down for just 31 after Rahul Tripathi was dismissed by Lungi Ngidi. Deepak Chahar picked four wickets dismissing Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, and the two KKR openers.
In the first innings, CSK openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad scored half-centuries to provide the team a blazing start before Varun Chakravarthy provided a breakthrough. Gaikwad fell for a well-compiled 65 but du Plessis remained unbeaten on 95 to power CSK to a strong total of 220/3. In between, MS Dhoni and Moeen Ali played cameos, scoring 17 off 8 and 25 of 12 each. KKR bowlers were put under the pump with Pat Cummins conceding 58 off 4 overs and Prasidh Krishna leading 49.
