Even at the age of 40, it is tough to keep MS Dhoni away from records in the Indian Premier League. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper completed another century as he became the first player in the history of the tournament to complete 100 catches for a franchise. Dhoni achieved the landmark as he grabbed three more catches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2021 match on Thursday.
Dhoni remains an icon in the game. Though his powers with the bat have waned over the last few seasons, there still remains no match to his abilities with the gloves and his street-smart brain. Dhoni completed 100 catches for CSK in the IPL as he played his role in the dismissal of SRH wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha.
On Friday, Dhoni took the catches of Jason Roya, Saha and Priyam Garg to take his tally to 101. When it comes to the landmark, Dhoni is followed by Suresh Raina (98 catches for CSK) and Kieron Pollard (94 catches for Mumbai Indians).
It was also the 10th occasion in the franchise-based cricket league where Dhoni had taken 3 or more catches as the wicket-keeper. This feat also saw him reach a new milestone. The nearest such feat is registered to the name of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stalwart AB de Villiers who has taken 3 or more catches in an IPL game a total of 5 times.
When it comes to dismissals as a wicket-keeper, Dhoni tops the list with 158 involvements to his name in 215 matches. Dhoni has a total of 119 catches in the tournament to his name and 39 stumpings. He stands 8 dismissals ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stumper Dinesh Karthik in the list.
Dhoni hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase his skills with the bat this season. On occasions where he had the opportunity, Dhoni has mostly disappointed. However, on Thursday, the veteran wicket-keeper batsman produced a fine little cameo against Hyderabad. He scored 14 runs in 11 balls with the help of a six and a four to finish the chase for Chennai.
In the process, CSK also became the first team this season to qualify for the playoffs.
