Despite captain MS Dhoni’s valiant effort, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost a hard-fought match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League on Wednesday night.
The Captain Cool scored a whirlwind 32 off 17 balls. However, his effort was not enough to take the home side across the line.
Moreover, Dhoni was found struggling with his fitness during the match. With just seven runs needed off three balls, Dhoni dragged a ball toward mid-wicket and it should have been an easy two runs to retain the strike. However, the veteran wicket-keeper batsman was unable to come back for the second run. The last two balls ended with two singles as Sandeep Sharma bowled well to seal victory for RR.
Later, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming revealed in the post-match press conference that Dhoni has joined the CSK’s long injury list with Ben Stokes, Sisanda Magala and Deepak Chahar.
“Dhoni is nursing a knee injury. You can see in some of his movements that is hindering him somewhat. But still what you saw today is a great player for us. His fitness has always been very professional,” said Fleming.
Notably, the former India skipper has been managing this troubled knee since the start of IPL 2023. Even there was doubt over his participation in the opener against Gujarat Titans as well.