Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been an integral part of the world’s grandest T20 league, the IPL. Over the years, several great players have immortalized themselves by playing in this tournament but MS Dhoni is the reason why this tournament was started in the first place. Had he not led India to the T20 World Cup win in South Africa, BCCI may have never taken the T20 format seriously.
Well, not talking about the past much, let us move towards the future as IPL 2020 is approaching fast. It is unknown when the competition will start but one thing is for sure, Thala MS Dhoni will make his return to the cricket field, playing for the Chennai Super Kings. He has achieved almost everything in the IPL and the fact that he has appeared in 9 of the 12 IPL finals solidifies the aforementioned statement. Here’s a look at his highest individual scores against every IPL team.
Delhi Capitals – 63*
Starting with the Delhi-based franchise first, MS Dhoni has scored three fifties in 22 innings against Delhi. He achieved his highest score of 63* against Delhi in the 2011 season. He scored 63 runs off 31 balls, hitting five fours and four sixes to ensure that Chennai wins the match by 18 runs.
Kings XI Punjab – 79*
Seldom has it happened that MS Dhoni has scored a fifty and Chennai have lost that match? But one such incident happened in 2018 when the skipper played his best knock against Kings XI Punjab, scoring 79 runs off 4 deliveries. However, Punjab won that match by 4 runs in Mohali.
Kolkata Knight Riders – 66*
Very few fans may be able to recollect this special knock that MS Dhoni played at the Eden Gardens. He came out to bat when the team’s score was 55/3 and CSK ended the innings at 164/3. Dhoni stitched a wonderful partnership with Subramaniam Badrinath and the captain hit 66 runs off 33 balls. Chennai won that match by 55 runs in 2010.
Mumbai Indians – 63*
Another half-century from MS Dhoni which ended in a losing cause was during the final match of IPL 2013. Chasing 149 runs, Chennai got off to a disastrous start but Dhoni’s 63 runs made sure that Mumbai wins the match by 23 runs.
Rajasthan Royals – 75*
During the previous season of IPL, MS Dhoni played a special knock against Rajasthan Royals where he took CSK from 27/3 to 175/5. Dhoni slammed 4 fours and 4 sixes in that 46-ball innings and guided Chennai to an 8-run win at home.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 84*
MS Dhoni recorded his best IPL score last year against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing a modest target, Chennai lost a few early wickets and once again the onus was on Dhoni. He almost took Chennai to an improbable win, however, in the end, Chennai lost that match by just one run.
Sunrisers Hyderabad – 67*
The right-handed batsman from Ranchi produced a masterclass against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013. The Orange Army set a target of 160 runs for Chennai. It seemed like they would win the contest as Chennai needed 15 runs off the last over. However, Dhoni who had completed his half-century, took 15 runs off the first 4 balls to help CSK win the match with two balls to spare.
