Mumbai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was at his best on Monday night against the Delhi Daredevils. His fans feel that Dhoni’s present form is similar to the form he had when he had grown his hair. The Chennai Super Kings captain hit an unbeaten 51 off just 22 balls to ensure his team a 13-runs victory at the Maharashtra Cricket Association ground in Pune.
Some of his fans tweeted saying: “The old Dhoni is back. All that is missing is the long hair.”
Dhoni’s half century in 22 balls is his second quickest in Indian Premier League. Many fans want Dhoni to grow his long hair back.
Opener Shane Watson, who top scored for Chennai with a knock of 78 to be named man of the match, hailed Dhoni saying: “MS [Dhoni] is hitting the ball as well as he ever has.”
Dhoni supporters want him to finish as the most prolific scorer of this edition’s IPL as they feel Dhoni is like he was a decade ago. This season, Dhoni has scored 286 runs from only eight matches at a strike-rate of 169.23. He has cracked three half-centuries with two against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali and against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Dhoni’s quick knock was cheered by his wife, Sakshi Dhoni, and daughter, Ziva. A video of Dhoni’s daughter wanting to give her father a hug during his innings, which Dhoni posted on on instagram, has gone viral.
Dhoni is battling his back pain and even candidly admitted that the pain hasn’t reduced. “Back is bad but nothing much can be done. Because there is no rest period. I have not been training much because of it. There is a bit of pain but I think I will manage,” he said.
Dhoni’s teammate and South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis, talking about Dhoni's knock, said: “He is in great form at the moment and it’s extremely tough to bowl to him when he is form like that because he has got such a big arch and if you want to bowl wide he can still hit you to leg side. So he has got lot of options so it makes life difficult for bowler to plan and bowl to him. It is also tough for the captain to set a field for him as he can hit any ball to wherever he wants to.”
Dhoni is keen that his team remains on top as they have won six matches out of the eight played so far but wants his bowlers to improve. “It helps if you are winning and learning. Death bowling hasn't been good, and if we reach the finals, which will be held in small grounds, the margin for error is very small. Bowlers have to adapt otherwise we will have to look at other options. Overall, we are a happy side and the mood is good.”
