Former World Cup-winning captain of Australia, Michael Clarke, has hailed MS Dhoni as the best wicketkeeper in the world after his all-round performance in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) 5-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Stadium on Monday. Dhoni’s performance played a crucial role in securing CSK’s second win of the season.
Dhoni, 43, who took over the CSK captaincy this season after Ruturaj Gaikwad was sidelined with an elbow injury, impressed with both the bat and gloves. He scored an unbeaten 26 off 11 balls and was involved in three key dismissals behind the stumps. Dhoni stumped Ayush Badoni off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling, took a catch to dismiss Rishabh Pant off Matheesha Pathirana, and ran out Abdul Samad.
With his stellar wicketkeeping performance, Dhoni became the first player to reach 200 dismissals in the IPL.
Clarke, speaking on Star Sports, expressed his admiration for Dhoni’s consistency and leadership. “It is always loud when MS Dhoni’s in town. His keeping doesn’t surprise me. In my opinion, he is still the best wicketkeeper in the world. It is phenomenal how consistent he has been over a long period of time,” Clarke said.
Clarke also praised Dhoni’s captaincy, particularly his smart use of spinners during the match. “The best thing that happened tonight was MS Dhoni’s captaincy. He read the situation, adjusted to the conditions, and bowled his spinners in tandem. He rushed through the overs, changed the pace of the game, and picked up wickets. His experience on the field was defining tonight,” Clarke added.
Despite facing criticism earlier in the season for batting lower down the order, Dhoni’s quickfire 26 off 11 balls, coupled with a 57-run unbeaten partnership with Shivam Dube (43 off 37 balls), helped CSK chase down the target with three balls to spare. Dhoni was adjudged Player of the Match for his all-round contribution.
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