IPL 2023, Qualifier 1: Shankar was inside the crease and Chahar pulled out. From behind the stumps, Dhoni had a subtle smile on his face.
Chennai: The game had just twisted after in-form Shubman Gill perished in a 173 chase at Chepauk on Tuesday during Qualifier 1 between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. Sensing an opportunity to make more inroads, pacer Deepak Chahar attempted a mankad at the non-striker’s end during the 14th over. Vijay Shankar was the batter at the non-striker’s end. Shankar was inside the crease and Chahar pulled out. From behind the stumps, Dhoni had a subtle smile on his face.
Dhoni’s reaction to Chahar’s action is now winning hearts on social media. Here is the picture:
The reaction from Dhoni when Deepak Chahar tried to run-out Vijay Shankar in non-striker end. pic.twitter.com/JONVlgCu1m
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 23, 2023
Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s half-century (60 off 44) and Devon Conway’s 40 off 34 helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) post 172/7 against GT.
Conway was struggling for rhythm but Gaikwad was fluent as usual and stroked to his fourth fifty of the season. GT pulled things back nicely during the middle overs and seemed to have control of the proceedings. Towards the end, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali chipped in with cameos to put up 172/7 on the board.
Batting first, Chennai had a steady yet dramatic start as Ruturaj Gaikwad got caught at mid-wicket in the second over but was lucky to survive as Darshan Nalkande overstepped and the hooter went up. He then smoked over long-on for a six on a free hit and hit a boundary on the next ball.
With some cracking shots from Gaikwad and Devon Conway, CSK reached 49 for no loss at the end of the Power-play.
The opening duo continued with the momentum as they kept rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard moving. Gaikwad slapped it at deep backward point for a boundary and completed his fifty off 36 balls as CSK reached 85 for no loss at the halfway mark.
