WATCH: MS Dhoni Rolls Back Years With Monstrous Six Against Gujarat Titans in Opening Match of IPL 2023

Mahendra Singh Dhoni rolled back years with a monstrous six in the final over of Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans in the opening match of 2023 Indian Premier League. Dhoni came out to bat in the 18th over of the innings and got just 7 balls to play but he made them count by scoring 14 runs.

Chennai Super Kings posted 178/7 in 20 overs courtesy Ruturaj Gaikwad’s magnificent 92-run knock as Dhoni also gave it a finishing touch with a six and a four in the last over.

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings IPL 2023 Match no. 1 Live Score

It was the third ball of the over and Joshua Little pitched it a bit short but it didn’t get much bounce as Dhoni swung his arms and smashed it hard over deep square leg for a maximum. He followed it up with a boundary to keep the scoreboard moving at a healthy run rate.

Before the match, there was a bit of uncertainty over Dhoni’s availability for the match as apparently, he sustained a knee injury during the training session in Chennai. However, the CSK captain looked absolutely fit on Friday as he ran hard between the wickets.

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Earlier, Ruturaj smashed the Gujarat Titans bowlers all around the park during his 50-ball stay in the middle. He scored 9 sixes and four sixes to help CSK post a challenging total in the opening fixture of IPL 2023.

CSK looked on course for a 180-plus total but the GT bowlers bowled well to stem the momentum. For the Titans, spinner Rashid Khan (2/26) and pacers Mohammed Shami (2/29) and Alzarri Joseph (2/33) picked two wickets each.

Meanwhile, the CSK skipper talked about playing in front of a jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium and also gave his take on the impact player rule.

“You want to play in front of people. This stadium is twice the capacity of other stadiums. Fantastic atmosphere. Preparation was good. We assembled quite early. It’s a luxury to have (impact player). It becomes slightly easy to take the decision because you can use it at any time. Influence of all-rounder has become slightly less because of the rule," Dhoni said at the toss.

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