On Sunday, Kings XI Punjab handed Chennai Super Kings their first defeat of the season, with Chris Gayle turning the spotlight on with an exuberant 22-ball fifty in first-ever game for Punjab, and incidentally his first game in this IPL season. But it was MS Dhoni who stole the thunder, fighting through back pain to bludgeon 79 runs off 44 balls that took CSK close but fell 4 runs short of parrying them over the line.
Quick Stats-
134 Number of consecutive matches after which Suresh Raina missed an IPL match for Chennai Super Kings – the most any player has played for a particular team without a break in the IPL.
22 Number of balls taken by Chris Gayle to score his fifty – his second fastest in the IPL.
2 Number of ducks made by Aaron Finch in his two innings in IPL 2018. Both have been golden ducks!
35 Number of matches taken by Imran Tahir to complete his 50 wickets in the IPL. Only two bowlers – Sunil Narine (32) and Lasith Malinga (33) have reached the landmark in fewer matches.
79 Dhoni’s score – his highest in the Twenty20 cricket. His previous best was 70* against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bengaluru in 2011.
8 Number of sixes, MS Dhoni has hit off the last ball of the innings (20th over) – most by any batsman in IPL. He was earlier at level with Rohit Sharma and JP Duminy with seven sixes.
3 Number of times MS Dhoni has remained not out in an unsuccessful chase in the IPL – vs Mumbai Indians in 2013 (63*), vs Kings XI Punjab in 2014 (42*) and vs Kings XI Punjab in 2018 (79*)