It was Mahendra Singh Dhoni at his belligerent best as Chennai Super Kings thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders by a whopping margin of 55 runs in the Indian Premier League match in Kolkata, on Tuesday.
Fresh from their loss against Deccan Chargers in their opening match, Chennai were once again on the backfoot after losing three early wickets.
But Dhoni changed the complexion of the match with a blazing innings of 66 from a mere 33 deliveries, which included three sixes and six boundaries.
The Chennai captain's quickfire partnership of 109 in 65 deliveries for the fourth wicket with S Badrinath (43 from 33 balls) saw the visitors hammer 83 in the last six overs that ultimately proved the turning point of the game.
The track was on the slower side and not easy for batting, as Dhoni himself admitted. But the right-hander showed great patience in the middle overs before unleashing his strokes towards the end.
During the course of his innings, Dhoni was struck on the right elbow but despite that he was superb with the gloves and took a great catch to dismiss Owais Shah off Lakshimpathy Balaji's bowling.
This huge win will no doubt serve as a good launching pad for Chennai, but they will pray that Dhoni's injury is not serious and he is fit for their next match against Delhi Daredevils on Friday.
Photograph: Getty Images
