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If you're counting off MS Dhoni in IPL 2023 for the sake of him being 41, then do it at your own risk. In the IPL, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper has been striking at a strike rate of 214.8, averaging 58, and playing only 18 percent dot balls. He has rewound the clock, and how?
Dhoni is back at smoking sixes against the fast bowlers, he is hitting the spinners from the word go, and he is still doing the dirty job of finishing for CSK.
If any team should be wary of his recent form, then it should be the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Against RCB, Dhoni has scored almost 16 percent of his IPL runs, which speaks volumes about his special liking to the franchise. He averages almost 40 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and boasts a strike rate of 140.84.
If we add Dhoni's numbers at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, then it makes for an even more fearsome read for RCB fans, as he averages 92.60 with a fantabulous SR of 180.86 in Bengaluru.
On that note, let's look at 3 of MS Dhoni's best knocks, which he played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
#3 65(30), Match 15, IPL 2008
Dhoni's belligerent knock in the inaugural edition of the IPL proved to be the decider in CSK's first-ever match against RCB.
Chennai's innings was going nowhere after being put into bat first by then-RCB skipper Rahul Dravid as they were crawling at just over seven runs per over until the 14th over.
But the arrival of the CSK skipper changed the complexion of the innings as he started unleashing his onslaught on the bowlers, especially Dale Steyn and Zaheer Khan.
He and Suresh Raina added 95 runs at a run rate of more than 14, in which Dhoni's contribution was 65 runs off just 30 balls, which propelled the score to 178/5.
In reply, RCB fell short of 13 runs despite valiant efforts from Wasim Jaffer and Ross Taylor.
#2 70*(34), Match 24, IPL 2018
It was a homecoming for CSK in IPL 2018 as they were returning from a two-year ban from the BCCI.
MS Dhoni was also back as the captain of the Men in Yellow.
If one knock defined the character of CSK's dressing room, bouncing back from situations when the writing was on the wall, it was Dhoni's incredible innings against RCB.
Half-centuries from Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers and a quickfire cameo from Mandeep Singh at the backend of the innings ensured that RCB posted a mammoth 205/8 on the board.
CSK needed to score more than 10 runs per over from the very start, and in the process of scoring quick runs, they lost four wickets within nine overs.
The required run rate had almost reached 13 when Dhoni walked out to bat alongside opener Ambati Rayudu, who had fought the lone battle so far.
CSK needed a miracle knock, and they needed it in super-quick time. Dhoni was happy to play second fiddle to Rayudu initially.
When everyone thought the match was going to slip out of CSK's grasp, Dhoni began to take the RCB bowlers to the cleaners. Be it negative or positive match-ups, he did not care about anything.
Even when Rayudu was run out for 82, which brought RCB back into the game, the keeper-batter continued to plunder the bowlers murderously.
With a six to long-on off Corey Anderson in the 20th over, he finished the match for his side, smashing an unbeaten 70 off just 34 balls with the help of one four and seven massive sixes.
Had it not been for Dhoni's whirlwind knock, CSK would have had no chance at all of winning this game.
#1 84*(48), Match 39, 2019
Arguably the best innings MS Dhoni has ever played for CSK against RCB. It came in the 39th game of IPL 2019.
A valiant half-century from Parthiv Patel helped RCB post a competitive total of 161/7 against a disciplined CSK bowling attack.
In reply, Chennai got off to the worst possible start, losing four wickets for just 28 runs inside the powerplay.
It was all on Dhoni's shoulders to bail the team out of this precarious situation. Initially, he took his time to get settled at the crease, hitting occasional boundaries here and there so that the required run rate remained within his reach.
With 26 runs needed off the last over, RCB were firm favorites to win the game.
However, Dhoni turned the tide, smashing 24 runs off the first five deliveries of Umesh Yadav and almost winning it for his side. But he missed the last ball, and Parthiv Patel's brilliance behind the stumps saw him hit the stumps, running out Shardul Thakur at the striker's end and giving RCB a thrilling win by one run.
Despite the loss, Dhoni's magnificent 84* off just 48 balls proved that even as he approached the twilight of his career, he just couldn't be written off.
