MS Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings, had an impressive game against the Lucknow Super Giants, leading his team to their second victory of the IPL 2025 season. For his outstanding performance, the 43-year-old was honored with the player-of-the-match award. Before the match kicked off at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Dhoni showed interest in a new robotic camera dog that has been introduced to the IPL this season. During his warm-up, he took a moment to check out the gadget, even playfully tipping it over. When the robot dog wandered close to him, he picked it up and gently placed it back on the ground, getting it stuck there for a bit. As Dhoni walked away, a member of the tech team quickly came to help the robot.
This season, Dhoni returned to captain CSK, making him the oldest captain in IPL history. This change came about after Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out for the season with an elbow injury. Unfortunately, Dhoni’s first match as captain didn’t go so smoothly as they faced a tough loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets. But Dhoni and his team made a strong comeback in Lucknow, thanks in part to his impressive 26 runs off just 11 balls, which included four boundaries and a six.
— Bhuvan
(@bhuvanChari007) April 14, 2025
After the game, Dhoni expressed some surprise at being named player-of-the-match, mentioning that he thought Noor Ahmad was the real standout performer. He said, Even today I was like, ‘Why are they giving me the award?’ I feel Noor bowled really well. With the new ball and when Noor and Jaddu bowled four-five overs together – those were the two phases where we really did well. It also turned out that he hadn’t received the Player of the Match award since 2019, which took him aback. That’s a long time back, he commented.
Despite their win in Lucknow, the Chennai Super Kings still find themselves at the bottom of the league table with just four points. Their next challenge will be against the Mumbai Indians on April 20. Fans will be hoping that the team can build on this victory and climb the standings in the remaining matches of the season.