Adam Milne becomes the second bowler to dismiss MS Dhoni within powerplay in IPL

New Zealand pacer Adam Milne on Sunday became only the second bowler to dismiss Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni within the powerplay in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter. Milne was representing defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the opening encounter of the second half of IPL 2021 against the Chennai-based franchise. The cricketer dismissed Dhoni after the veteran’s well-timed shot went straight to Trent Boult who was fielding at deep square leg. Boult completed a well-judged reverse cup, despite falling down in the process. Dhoni would certainly regret his decision to go for the pull shot, following the short delivery by Milne. Dirk Nannes was the first bowler to record the unique milestone while representing Deccan Chargers (DC) in 2010.

CSK lost four or more wickets in the powerplay of an IPL encounter for the 10th time, with four of them recorded in clashes against MI. The Chennai-based franchise has lost three wickets in as many overs in a clash of the prestigious tournament, against the latter four times, in comparison to just once against any other team.

Jasprit Bumrah became the fifth player to represent only 1 IPL franchise in 100 or more matches, after being selected in the MI lineup. Dwayne Bravo similarly took the field in CSK colours for the 100th time.

Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya miss out as MS Dhoni opts to bat

Dhoni earlier won the toss and opted to bat in the IPL 2021 encounter. However, MI skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were not a part of the lineup, with Kieron Pollard leading the franchise instead. Pollard played down talk over the absence of Rohit, further mentioning the debut handed to Anmolpreet Singh. Sam Curran missed out for the Chennai-based franchise, with Bravo a part of the lineup having enjoyed success in the recently concluded edition of CPL.

“Looks like a good wicket”

Dhoni termed his decision to bat as being influenced by the quality of the wicket.

“We will bat first, looks like a good wicket. Setting a target will be a better option. It’s the same for everyone. I can’t say if it’s a good break or not. Once tournament starts, you get into some sort of rhythm but this season it’s new and maybe us cricketers will start loving it. Seven games, then a break, and seven more. It comes down to how you play on that day in the shortest form. We’ll try to do the basics right and focus on the process. Sam is not available. Faf, Moeen, Bravo and Josh are playing this game,” stated the CSK skipper as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Pollard expressed happiness over losing the toss.

“We weren’t so sure, so happy that I lost the toss. Rohit is okay, he’ll be fine sooner rather than later, I’m just the captain for today. We started a couple of months back, and we were just starting to build the momentum with a couple of wins. Rohit misses out, Hardik is not playing as well. Anmolpreet makes his debut, that’s about it, all others are regular players,” stated the all-rounder.