MS Dhoni dispelled any doubts about his batting abilities at the Wankhede Stadium, hitting seven boundaries and a six on his way to a half-century in the first match of the IPL 2022 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Dhoni’s 24th IPL half-century was his first since April 21, 2019 (84* vs RCB). He had come to bat with his team trailing at 61/5 and unleashed his wrath on the KKR bowlers, who had been dominating the CSK batting line-up up until that point.

Dhoni smashed his first IPL fifty in nearly three years, but Kolkata Knight Riders put on a clinical bowling display to restrict Chennai Super Kings to 131/5.

After Shivam Dube (3) dropped a sitter to Sunil Narine at short-midwicket off pacer Andre Russell, CSK had lost half of their side for 61 runs.

Then, for the sixth wicket, Jadeja and Dhoni added 70 runs to help CSK reach a respectable total. The former and current captains exchanged dot balls at first, but Dhoni hammered three boundaries in the 18th over, in which CSK scored 14 runs.

Dhoni fetched a boundary and a six in the penultimate over, from which CSK got 15 runs, displaying glimpses of his famous match-finishing prowess.

As CSK added 74 runs in the final 10 overs, the duo added 18 runs in the final over, with Jadeja hitting a six off the final ball.