It was a Mahendra Singh Dhoni show all the way in Lucknow on Monday, April 14, 2025.
While he played the finisher's role to perfection with the bat, it was behind the stumps where he truly stole the spotlight -- creating IPL history in the process.
Dhoni, who effected a catch and a stumping in the match, became the first player in IPL history to register 200 dismissals.
Playing his 271st IPL game, the CSK legend now has 201 dismissals to his name -- 155 catches and 46 stumpings.
The 43-year-old legend's batting may have slowed down with age, but Dhoni proved that his reflexes and awareness behind the stumps remain razor-sharp.
LSG youngster Ayush Badoni was the latest victim of Dhoni's brilliance. He stepped out of his crease quite early to Ravindra Jadeja, who foxed him with a short ball fired wide giving him no chance to get his bat on it.
Dhoni, alert as ever, collected the ball cleanly and whipped off the bails in no time.
The umpires added some drama as they reviewed the stumping, to check if Dhoni had collected the ball in front of the stumps.
But it turned to be a futile exercise as replays confirmed he had timed it perfectly, gathering the ball just inches behind the stumps.
Dhoni then delivered a moment of pure brilliance with the gloves to run out Abdul Samad.
As Samad sprinted towards the non-striker's end to steal a bye, an ever-alert Dhoni flicked an underarm throw from way behind the stumps, which went over the batter running across and hit the stumps directly. Samad, stunned by the unexpected throw, was caught short of his crease.
Just one ball later, Dhoni added another feather to his cap -- this time taking a well-judged catch after Rishabh Pant top-edged a slog off Matheesha Pathirana.
Dhoni settled under the swirling ball and made no mistake to create history.
Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi may not be enjoying the best of seasons with the bat, but his stunning catch to dismiss Aiden Markram gave CSK an early boost.
Markram, attempting to flick left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed over the leg side, got a leading edge that flew high over the off side. Sprinting back from the covers, Tripathi, playing his 100th IPL match, threw himself into a full-length dive and held on brilliantly as he hit the turf.
Fielding has been a weak link for CSK in IPL 2025, but Tripathi's effort was a welcome reminder of how sharp fielding can lift a team.
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