Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first when Ravi Shastri asked him for his comment on leading CSK for mind-boggling 200 times since 2008. Dhoni was quick to reply that it felt good to have survived for so long. He added that the nuances of T20 cricket and evolving was the key.
On a lighter note, Dhoni also said that earlier it felt very hot and humid while playing at the Chepauk but it was like playing in Switzerland at the refurbished ground now.
“It feels good to have survived for so long and also I feel the crowd has been fantastic. Also the fact that we started in the old stadium, it was very hot and humid. But now it feels like we’re playing in Switzerland. It’s good to play,” Dhoni said.
“We have seen cricket change – how T20 was played at that point of time till now, a lot has changed. The crowd has been fantastic,” he added.
Earlier before the start of the match, N Srinivasan – the former BCCI president, the managing director of India Cements and owner of the CSK franchise, handed a memento to Dhoni.
Mr N Srinivasan, former Chairman of the ICC, former President of BCCI and TNCA, Mrs. Chitra Srinivasan and Mrs Rupa Gurunath present @msdhoni with a special memento commemorating the very special 200th 👏#TATAIPL | #CSKvRR | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/nixs6qsq2P
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2023
In the 199 matches as CSK captain ahead of the match against RR, Dhoni guided CSK to 120 wins. One match ended without a result. His batting record as Chennai captain is also excellent. He has scored 4298 runs at an average of 40.16 and a strike rate of 137.18. The right-hander has hit 300 fours and 197 sixes as the captain of CSK.
