Former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh praised wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his lightning-fast stumping of Suryakumar Yadav during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 'El Clasico' match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI).
The packed crowd at Chepauk and fans around the world went wild after witnessing Dhoni's brilliance behind the stumps. Known for his incredible speed as a wicketkeeper, Dhoni once again proved his skills during CSK's four-wicket win over MI.
Dhoni's quick hands were on display in the 11th over of the first innings. MI's stand-in captain, Suryakumar Yadav, stepped out of the crease to attempt an inside-out drive. However, he failed to pick Noor Ahmad's wrist spin, missed the ball, and before he could react, Dhoni swiftly removed the bails, stumping him for 29 (26).
"There is no wicketkeeper like MS Dhoni, even today. At this age, wicketkeeping like that was lightning-quick," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
Mumbai Indians fell 15 to 20 runs short after being put to bat by the Super Kings. They struggled to stitch up significant partnerships and settled for 155/9.
In response, CSK chased down the target with ease, thanks to a brilliant 53 from captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and an unbeaten 65* from Rachin Ravindra. Harbhajan felt MI needed a few more runs to have a better chance of winning.
"I feel MI will be sad because they could have batted better. It was the first match. If five or six matches had been played on this pitch, then MI's total could have been a winning one," he added.
With the way CSK approached the 156-run chase, the chances of seeing MS Dhoni walking towards the crease with the bat dimmed. However, CSK lost a couple of wickets in the cluster, leading to Dhoni's arrival at the climax of the second innings.
He faced the last two deliveries of the penultimate over and fended them off, but it was enough to satisfy the crowd's appetite.
"When Dhoni came out to bat, he played two balls, but the entire stadium was filled with enthusiasm," Harbhajan said.
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