NEW DELHI: The atmosphere at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam erupted with excitement as the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped onto the field to bat for the first time in the IPL 2024.
In the previous matches against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, Dhoni's batting wasn't required as the Yellow Brigade comfortably secured victories.
However, in the match against Delhi Capitals, with CSK struggling at 120/6 in 16.1 overs while chasing 191, Dhoni made his much-awaited entrance.
The crowd erupted in thunderous applause as Dhoni walked out to bat for the first time in the tournament.
The fans went wild when the 42-year-old maestro struck a boundary off the very first delivery he faced, pulling a short-of-length delivery from Mukesh Kumar.
Though CSK lost the match by 20 runs, Dhoni's cameo of 37 off just 16 balls delighted the Vizag crowd.
WATCH:
The former CSK skipper became the first player to reach the 300 dismissal mark in the T20 format.
The wicketkeeper who comes closest to Dhoni is former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal with 274 dismissals in T20 cricket.
