Defending champions Chennai Super Kings got
off to a nightmarish start to their IPL 2022 campaign with two back to back
defeats against Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants. But their
talismanic batter MS Dhoni continues to hit the limelight for his ability to fire with
the willow.

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Dhoni, 40, stepped down as CSK captain just
before the start of the IPL. He handed over the baton to his teammate Ravindra
Jadeja. Though CSK lost to Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday, Dhoni, who won
four IPL titles for CSK, has been in good form. In CSK’s opening match against
KKR, when the top order failed to score, Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 50 off 34
balls. His effort, however, went in vain as KKR won the game.

On Thursday, Dhoni came in to bat at the
19th over in a high scoring game against LSG at the Brabourne Stadium in
Mumbai. In the very first delivery, he dispatched the ball for a monstrous six.

Also Read: IPL 2022: ‘He is a great find for India,’ says KL Rahul, skipper of Lucknow Super Giants

A short ball bowled by Avesh Khan, Dhoni
dispatched the ball over the cover region to the awe of fans as the ball landed
in the stands for a big six.

In all, Dhoni played six balls and scored
16 and remained unbeaten against LSG. During his quick innings, he also smashed
two boundaries.

Also Read: Dinesh Karthik’s cool in death overs draws comparison with MS Dhoni

Sent into batting, Chennai Super Kings
scored 210 for seven in stipulated 20 overs. Robin Uthappa scored a fluent 50
off 27 balls to give his side a solid start before Shivam Dube struck an
aggressive 49 off 30 balls. Skipper Ravindra Jadeja (17 off 9) and MS Dhoni (16
off 6) then provided the final flourish.

Chasing the massive score, LSG got off to a
brilliant start with Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul scoring 61 and 40,
respectively.

However, things started looking slightly
difficult for Lucknow after they lost their openers and Manish Pandey in quick
succession.

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Lucknow soon managed to shift the pressure
back on CSK. Evin Lewis and Badoni smashed Shivam Dube for 25 runs in the 19th
over to bring the equation down to nine from the last six balls. In all, Lewis
scored 55 off 23 balls, including six fours and three sixes.

Meanwhile, West Indies legend Dwayne Bravo
overtook Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga to become the highest wicket-taker in the
history of the league. The 38-year-old picked up his 171st wicket when he
dismissed Deepak Hoods for 13 runs on the second ball of his final over against
LSG.