Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni on Tuesday (May 23) once again gave a glimpse of his smart cricketing brain as he plotted Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya’s dismissal in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023 at Chepauk.
In a video shared by JoiCinema on Instagram, Dhoni can be seen shrewdly planning his GT counterpart’s dismissal and how it was implemented to perfection.
During the fourth delivery of the sixth over in GT’s innings, spinner Maheesh Theekshana bowled a length delivery around off which forced Hardik to move around to cut it to Moeen Ali in front of square.
Subsequently, Dhoni called Jadeja from backward square leg and placed him at backward point. The ploy did wonders as Theekshana pulled his length back a bit and Pandya hit the ball straight to Jadeja, who comfortably grabbed the catch.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on-air during that dismissal, hailed Dhoni’s field placement by saying, "He played with Hardik's ego there."
Coming to the match, CSK secured a spot in the IPL 2023 playoffs with a convincing 15-run victory over GT.
Asked to bat first, the Super Kings posted 172/7 on the board with key contributions from opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (60 off 44) and Devon Conway (40 off 34).
In reply, the defending champions were bundled out for 157 in 20 overs. It was a disappointing display with the bat as no one managed to hit a half-century. Shubman Gill top scored with 38-ball 42.
Ravindra Jadeja (2-18), Maheesh Theekshana (2-28), Deepak Chahar (2-29) and Matheesha Pathirana (2-37) picked up two wickets each for CSK.
