The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won by six wickets against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Mumbai to kick off the IPL 2022 on March 26. CSK had a dismal day with the bat, but MS Dhoni's effort with the bat was one of the few bright spots for the team.
The former CSK captain bailed out the side from a precarious situation (61/5 in 10.5 overs) with an unbeaten 50 off just 38 deliveries, eventually guiding them to a reasonable score of 131/5, adding 70* runs for the sixth wicket with new captain Ravindra Jadeja.
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan praised Dhoni for his "amazing" effort and also disclosed that Dhoni "was not well" a month before entering the CSK camp in Surat.
“It was impressive, especially because he hasn't played any amount of cricket. I met him in Taj Lands before he was going to Surat for the camp (CSK's first camp). I was talking to him and he said, ‘I haven't played anything, I haven't done anything'. He was not well one month before then as well, so he was recovering from some illness,” Pathan said on Star Sports' post-match broadcast.
“He was telling me about his planning, about what he was going to do and how he was going to go about his business. Guys like us, who watch him from the studio wanted him to finish on a high. And today was a little bit of a sample for that. The kind of innings he played was outstanding. He played against fast bowling really well. Yes, he was struggling at the start against the two mystery spinners, but he managed it really well.”
Pathan said that one cannot always have a "fantastic, clean" innings and that Dhoni's effort will put CSK in good stead, despite their terrible start to the season.
“You're not going to have a fantastic, clean inning all the time. That half-century came after 28 innings and that is a big number for a guy like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It will hold him very good for the season. The last 2 years, Dhoni couldn't just get a good start. Now, he's got a great start and it is going to be good for the CSK,” said Pathan.
