Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni appeared for the 200th match as captain of the franchise when he flipped the coin alongside Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson on Wedneday evening at Chepauk. Dhoni has now become the first captain in IPL to have led a team in 200 games. To mark this special occasion, the 41-year-old was felicitated by the CSK owner N Srinivasan. Dhoni received a memento from Srinivasan ahead of the toss with a big smile on his face. CSK shared the pics of the felicitation ceremony with caption: 'Salute the King and whistle for his 200th as Thala!'
Watch Dhoni get felicitated for his 200th game as CSK captain below:
A special one to celebrate the super one! #Thala200 #WhistlePodu #Yellove __pic.twitter.com/B99w8GLuig
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 12, 2023
Dhoni won the toss vs RR and decided to bowl first. Speaking on completing 200 matches as CSK captain, which is a rare feat in IPL or any other form of cricket, Dhoni thanked the fans for lending support in this long journey. At the toss, Dhoni said, "It feels good and also I feel the crowd has been fantastic. Also the fact that we started in the old stadium, it was very hot and humid. But now it feels like we're playing in Switzerland. It's good to play. We have seen cricket change - how T20 was played at that point of time till now, a lot has changed. The crowd has been fantastic."
Dhoni has won four titles for CSK. The first title win came in IPL 2010 when the team beat Mumbai Indians in the final. In 2011, CSK made it to their third final and this time they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to claim their second back-to-back title. CSK had to wait for a long time for their third win as it came in 2018 when the franchise returned to the roster after ban of 2 years. CSK's last title clinch was in 2021 where they beat Kolkata Knight Riders.
Dhoni led CSK a total of 199 times before the IPL 2023 clash vs RR and won 120 of them with a winning percentage of 60.61. Overall, Dhoni has captained in 213 matches for CSK as well as Rising Pune Supergiants (RPSG). Dhoni had led RPSG in 2016 before deciding to quit captaincy the next year. Dhoni also played in a few games for CSK purely as a keeper in IPL 2022 when Ravindra Jadeja led the side.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.