MS Dhoni Creates History In IPL After Leading CSK Against KKR

MS Dhoni became the first uncapped player in IPL history to lead a team, Chennai Super Kings. On a sunny Friday evening at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Super Kings took on Kolkata Knight Riders in their sixth league match of the season. KKR’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to field first.

Dhoni’s Return as Captain

Just a day before the match, CSK made a bombshell announcement, Dhoni will captain for the remainder of IPL 2025 after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out due to an elbow injury. The news dropped like a thunderclap across social media. Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on August 15, 2020, was retained by CSK for ₹4 crore as an uncapped player in the 2025 mega auction.

Ruturaj was handed the captaincy ahead of the 2024 season and carried the torch well. But in a cruel twist, an elbow injury during the third league game against Rajasthan Royals on March 30 sidelined him for the season.

Legacy of Dhoni in the IPL

From leading CSK in IPL 2008 to now, Dhoni has been the rock of the franchise. He’s captained 226 IPL matches—212 for CSK and 14 for Rising Pune Supergiants. Out of those, he led his teams to 133 victories. He’s also played 10 IPL finals—winning five of them (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023).

Match Overview: CSK vs KKR

Rahane’s decision to bowl first was tactical, given the spin-friendly Chepauk pitch. Moeen Ali came in to bolster their all-round depth. While the focus was on Dhoni, KKR knew they had to stay sharp. CSK’s playing XI saw Rahul Tripathi and Anshul Kamboj step in, replacing injured Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mukesh Choudhary, while KKR brought in Moeen Ali.

Playing XIs

Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed

Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock (WK), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact players

Chennai Super Kings: Matheesha Pathirana, Jamie Overton, Deepak Hooda, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Kolkata Knight Riders: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy

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