Shrewd captain, Master finisher & cult figure: Reliving epic moments from MS Dhoni’s glittering IPL career

MS Dhoni has been a huge name in world cricket. The Jharkhand-born cricketer entered the scene at the international level in late 2004. After his initial struggles, he made a name for himself as a power-hitter. He later moulded himself as a clever finisher, shrewd tactician, astute leader and led India to all three major ICC titles. 

Apart from scoring 17,266 international runs, with 16 tons and 108 half-centuries, Dhoni also became an IPL legend; whose birth coincided with the keeper-batsman’s gigantic rise in stature. From 2008 to 2021, the veteran player featured in every IPL season, leading a franchise on 13 editions, winning the elusive IPL trophy four times, ending as a part of the second-best side in a season on six occasions.

Known as one who keeps his cards close to his chest, here’s reliving 5 top moments from MS Dhoni’s IPL career as his future remains uncertain ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2022.

1) Leading CSK to the 2008 season final: The first season gave a sneak peek of things to follow as the Yellow Army began to create its legacy under Dhoni. The then Indian captain took CSK to the inaugural season-finale, where they lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 3 wickets. Dhoni shone with the bat, scoring 414 runs at 133.57 along with two half-centuries. He also led some big names such as Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Stephen Fleming without any discomfort.

2) Dhoni & Co. become first to retain their title: Under Dhoni, CSK won their maiden IPL championship in the 2010 edition. The Yellow Army defeated Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians (MI) by 22 runs at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. 

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While winning back-to-back games in T20s isn’t a cakewalk by any means, CSK went a step ahead to win successive seasons. The Dhoni-led side not only won their maiden title but also defended the trophy in the following season, in 2011. CSK beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 58 runs in the final to achieve the massive record. Later, MI also completed a double in 2020.

3) A fairy-tale comeback in 2018: After serving a two-year suspension, due to the spot-fixing scandal, CSK returned to the cash-rich league in 2018. They made the most of their comeback season, with Dhoni leading them from the front — as a leader, keeper and batsman — to take them to their third title. CSK beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 8 wickets in Mumbai. 

Dhoni ended the season with 455 runs (his second-best ever) at 75.83 with 3 half-centuries. He also accounted for 14 dismissals behind the stumps. He was certainly a man-on-a-mission; hungry for success and to once again take CSK back at the top.

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4) Master Finisher: Dhoni has entertained fans for years with his keeping, captaincy decisions and thrilling finishes. The man who is an expert in keeping calm and thinking rationally in crunch situations has often stood tall with the bat while donning the finisher’s role for CSK in IPL. Some of his top finishing moments came versus Punjab Kings (then known as Kings XI Punjab) in 2010 and 2016 editions, RCB in 2018, MI in 2014, DC in 2021, SRH in 2017. 

5) The Man with THE PLAN: Dhoni has also mastered the art of bringing out the best from the resources available to him. From handling big guns such as Fleming, Hayden, etc. Dhoni also gave a new lease of life to cricketers such as R Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo — which boasted their respective international careers — by helping them produce the goods in the yellow jersey.  

Some of his astute captaincy decisions involve: changing the batting order in CSK’s last league stage game versus PBKS in 2018, placing a straightish mid-off for Kieron Pollard in IPL 2010 final, promoting Rayudu up the order in 2018, making smart use of Ashwin and Chahar in powerplays and Bravo in the death overs.

Dhoni ended IPL 2021 without batting in the finale (with 4,746 runs and 165 dismissals). Given his massive fan-following, every die-hard Dhoni-loyalist deserves to see him bat once again before he decides to step aside from IPL. However, one can never get it right when it comes to predicting MSD’s next move.