MS Dhoni slammed on social media after batting at No 9 in CSK's 50-run loss against RCB: 'Reduced himself to a joke'

Rajat Patidar continued his dream start as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain on Friday, leading from the front to help his team thrash five-time champions Chennai Super Kings by 50 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After outplaying defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets in the tournament opener at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens last Saturday, RCB highlighted their credentials as a genuine title contender in the 18th IPL season by outplaying CSK at their own fortress and ending a 17-year drought at the iconic venue.

The significance of RCB’s clinical triumph indeed should have been the single biggest talking point in the aftermath of Friday’s encounter at Chepauk. Social media, however, was filled with posts targeting legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni after his latest knock, which has helped his critics further sharpen their knives.

Also Read | Patidar after historic win against CSK: ‘My goal was clear that as long as I was there…’

CSK were in trouble from the outset of their chase after being set a steep 197-run target by RCB, thanks to Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood’s twin-strike in his first over of the evening. Chennai kept losing wickets are regular intervals thereafter.

The night MSD became a proper tail-ender

By the time opener Rachin Ravindra (41 off 31) – who had starred in the team’s four-wicket victory over fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians – departed, CSK had lost half of their side with just 75 on the board.

While he has batted in the middle order throughout his career, with a couple of noteworthy exceptions, he has been batting at No 8 since 2023 thanks to a dodgy knee for which he had to undergo a surgery immediately after CSK’s fifth IPL title. On Friday, he went a step further and sent Ravichandran Ashwin out to bat ahead of him after all-rounder Shivam Dube was dismissed just four deliveries after Ravindra in the 13th over.

By the time he finally arrived at the crease following Ashwin’s dismissal off Liam Livingstone’s bowling in the 16th over, the Super Kings were left needing 98 to win off 28 balls with three wickets in hand. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he was batting on 5 off 7 balls at the end of the 18th over, having not collected a single boundary until then.

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‘Thala’, who led India to three ICC titles and CSK to five IPL titles as captain, went slam-bang in the last two overs, smashing three fours and two sixes to finish unbeaten on 30 off 16 deliveries with a strike rate of 187.50. The innings, however, did little to help his team’s cause and only helped him surpass Suresh Raina (4,687) to become CSK’s leading run-scorer (4,699) in the IPL.

How social media reacted to Dhoni’s knock against RCB at Chepauk

CSK have a short turnaround until their next game, facing Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Sunday. And after his forgettable knock against the Royal Challengers at his home ground, it remains to be seen how he responds to his critics a little over 24 hours from now.