Hello and welcome back to SlogVlog! A few days ago, we told you that on May 28th, we’d be returning for Part 2 of this trip down a yellow memory lane — revisiting some of the most unforgettable innings played by MS Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings.
And well, the wait is finally over. Today, we continue looking back at seven of the most memorable “Thala” innings ever played for the Men in Yellow. Let’s begin!
4. 84* VS Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2019):
The Indian Premier League has witnessed countless thrillers over the years, but this one remains one of the most heartbreaking matches ever for Chennai Super Kings fans. Yes, MS Dhoni played an absolutely sensational innings — anchoring the chase, accelerating when needed, and eventually scoring his highest-ever IPL score — but despite all of that, CSK still fell short by a solitary run against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
And honestly, that match perfectly exposed CSK’s biggest weakness that season — their batting dependence on Dhoni. The previous year, different players stepped up at different moments. Sometimes it was Dhoni, sometimes Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis or Dwayne Bravo. In 2018, it genuinely felt like a complete team effort.
The Indian Premier League has witnessed countless thrillers over the years, but this one remains one of the most heartbreaking matches ever for Chennai Super Kings fans. Yes, MS Dhoni played an absolutely sensational innings — anchoring the chase, accelerating when needed, and eventually scoring his highest-ever IPL score — but despite all of that, CSK still fell short by a solitary run against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
And honestly, that match perfectly exposed CSK’s biggest weakness that season — their batting dependence on Dhoni. The previous year, different players stepped up at different moments. Sometimes it was Dhoni, sometimes Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis or Dwayne Bravo. In 2018, it genuinely felt like a complete team effort.
But in 2019, it felt like everything rested on Dhoni’s shoulders. 416 runs, an average of 83, a highest score of 84*, and 23 sixes — it was a season that reminded everyone that even at 37 years old, MS Dhoni was still capable of carrying a franchise on his back. And the biggest proof of that? He finished as CSK’s highest run scorer that season. A 37-year-old finisher and wicketkeeper being the leading run scorer of a team that reached the IPL Final says everything you need to know about how important Dhoni was to that side. The 2018 season proved that he still had the ability to dominate bowling attacks and silence all doubts about whether he was finished. But 2019 showed something even greater — that Captain Cool was still one of the most dangerous players in the IPL, and when needed, he could still single-handedly keep CSK alive.
Coming to this innings itself, Chennai Super Kings were in absolute trouble. MS Dhoni walked out to bat when CSK were struggling at 28/4 in just 5.5 overs. At that stage of his career, Dhoni usually arrived somewhere in the middle overs, but on this night, he had to come in almost 6–7 overs earlier than expected because the innings was collapsing around him. And yet, he immediately made his intentions clear, driving Umesh Yadav through backward point for four off his very first ball.
From there, Dhoni tried to rebuild the innings almost single-handedly. He stabilized one end, but wickets just kept falling from the other. CSK only crossed the 100-run mark in the 16th over, and by the time the final over arrived, the defending champions needed an almost impossible 26 runs to win.
And then came one of the greatest last-over assaults in IPL history:
Umesh Yadav vs MS Dhoni.
One over.
26 needed.
First ball — pulled away for four.
Second ball — a monstrous 111-metre six, launched straight out of Chinnaswamy and straight onto the main road. Honestly, even talking about that six still gives goosebumps.
The next ball disappeared too — another six, this time just over AB de Villiers at long-off. He jumped, like an an NBA player he was up, but Dhoni’s wrist power simply carried the ball over him. Suddenly, the equation was down to 10 needed off 3 balls.
A quick double followed.
8 needed off 2.
And then Umesh bowled a full toss into Dhoni’s body — and somehow, Dhoni whipped it over deep mid-wicket for another six. From needing 26 off 6, CSK suddenly needed just 2 runs off the final ball. At that moment, almost everyone watching believed the greatest finisher and arguably the greatest captain the game has ever seen had pulled off yet another miracle.
But cricket can be cruel. Umesh used all his experience and bowled a wide slower delivery outside off stump. Dhoni swung and completely missed it. Realising the game could at least be tied, he immediately ran for a single — but Shardul Thakur could not get back quickly enough. Parthiv Patel collected the ball and fired a direct throw at the stumps. CSK lost by one heartbreaking run.
51* VS Mumbai Indians (2012):
We now travel back to the Reebok era of MS Dhoni. By his standards, the 2012 IPL season had actually been a relatively quiet one. Dhoni scored 358 runs across the season, but hit only 9 sixes — massive sixes, of course, because when Dhoni connected the ball usually disappeared into another postcode — but still, for a player known for destroying bowling attacks, those numbers did feel slightly underwhelming by his standards.
But all of that changed when Chennai Super Kings faced Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator at one of Dhoni’s favourite hunting grounds — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. With the match being a knockout, the pressure could not have been higher. Dhoni walked out to bat with CSK at 95/3 in 13.2 overs and instantly looked locked in, flicking his very first boundary with absolute venom. From that moment onwards, it genuinely felt like he had arrived with one intention only — destruction.
And then came the monstrous 112-metre six, the biggest six of the 2012 IPL season. Straight from the middle of the bat, soaring high over long-on and completely out of the Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was one of those hits that made you pause for a second and wonder how a human being could generate that kind of power. The ball striking from Dhoni that night was simply terrifying.
Everything he touched seemed to fly off the middle:
- ferocious straight drives,
- brutal pulls,
- powerful cover drives,
- and those classic inside-out shots over extra cover.
It genuinely felt like the entire stadium belonged to him that evening.
But the most iconic moment of the innings — and arguably one of the most iconic sixes of Dhoni’s IPL career after the 2011 World Cup Final six — came against Lasith Malinga. Malinga fired in a trademark yorker, and somehow Dhoni whipped it away with that gorgeous helicopter shot over cow corner for six. Pure timing. Pure wrist power. Pure MS Dhoni.
Dhoni eventually completed his half-century in just 20 deliveries, which at that time became the fastest IPL fifty by a CSK batter. That record was later broken by Suresh Raina in Qualifier 2 of the 2014 IPL against KXIP, during one of the greatest T20 innings ever played. And more recently, the record was shattered again by Urvil Patel against Lucknow Super Giants in Chennai, when he blasted a half-century in just 13 deliveries, equalling the record for the fastest IPL fifty overall.
79* VS Kings XI Punjab (PBKS)- 2018
So now, we move back to the 2018–2019 era of MS Dhoni. And for those of you who may not fully understand how important 2018 was for Captain Cool’s legacy, let’s quickly revisit the context behind it.
Back in 2013, Dhoni had one of the greatest IPL seasons of his career, scoring 461 runs with four half-centuries — still his highest-ever run tally in a single IPL season. The next two years, 2014 and 2015, were comparatively quieter, though still solid by most standards, with the Chennai Super Kings captain scoring 371 and 372 runs respectively. But then came 2016 and 2017, and things became much quieter. Dhoni did not even cross the 300-run mark in either season, producing only a few flashes of brilliance here and there.
And outside the IPL, things were not looking much better either. Dhoni stepped down as India’s white-ball captain in January 2017. While he still had a fairly decent year internationally overall, the final months of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 were extremely difficult for him. The South Africa tour, in particular, was disastrous by his standards, and suddenly, questions started appearing everywhere:
- Was MS Dhoni finished?
- Could he still strike the ball like before?
- Did a 36-year-old veteran still offer more value than a young 25-year-old player?
Dhoni had a lot of doubters around him at that stage. But then again — this is MS Dhoni we are talking about. One of the greatest cricketers to ever play the game. And throughout his career, he never really answered criticism with words. He always let the bat speak for him.
The returning CSK side had a great start to IPL 2018, however Dhoni himself managed only 30 runs in his first two matches. But then came the game against Punjab Kings — and with it, what was at that time the greatest T20 innings of his career.
CSK were chasing a massive target of 198, and Dhoni walked out to bat with the score reading 56/3 in just 6.4 overs. The required run rate was already climbing rapidly, and CSK were struggling to keep pace. But then, almost like a one-man bulldozing machine, Dhoni simply tore into the bowling attack.
From Ravichandran Ashwin to Yuvraj Singh, from Purple Cap winner Andrew Tye to Mohit Sharma — everyone was getting launched all around the ground. And the scary part was that it was not just brute power. Yes, there were the trademark gigantic sixes, but there were also beautifully placed boundaries threaded perfectly through gaps, showcasing the game awareness and precision that very few players in cricket history possessed like Dhoni did.
What made the innings even more incredible was the fact that Dhoni was struggling with a stiff back during the match. And yet, he kept smashing boundaries, pulling off one-handed sixes, launching massive hits into the stands, and reminding the cricketing world exactly who he was. This was vintage Dhoni. This was Mahendra Singh Dhoni at his absolute best.
That innings sent a message to everyone questioning him:
he was not finished,
he was still hungry,
and he remained one of the most dangerous ball strikers in world cricket.
Yes, CSK eventually lost the match by just 4 runs. But honestly, that night felt bigger than the result itself. Because from that moment onwards, the belief returned — that as long as MS Dhoni was still batting, absolutely anything was possible. And perhaps most importantly, it felt like the six-hitting monster called Mahendra Singh Dhoni had finally returned, ready to hunt once again whenever CSK needed him most.
75* VS Rajasthan Royals (2019):
Two returning teams. Both reached the playoffs. But only one lifted the trophy — Chennai Super Kings. And now, one year after one of the most memorable IPL seasons ever, we arrive at 2019.
MS Dhoni was coming into the season after a sensational IPL 2018, followed by a poor international run, but then an absolutely brilliant tour of Australia to begin 2019. The questions around Dhoni had started fading away again, and now he returned to defend his crown as a three-time IPL-winning captain. After beginning the season with a solid 32-run knock against Delhi Capitals alongside Suresh Raina, CSK next faced Rajasthan Royals in Chennai towards the end of March 2019.
And once again, CSK were in trouble. CSK were reeling at 27/3 when Dhoni walked out to bat.
Initially, Dhoni took his time. After almost edging one onto the stumps early against Jofra Archer, he settled himself in carefully, rotating strike smartly and picking up calculated, low-risk boundaries whenever possible. He reached his half-century in 38 deliveries, calmly anchoring the innings while wickets stayed intact around him.
But then came the death overs — and with them came the monster hitter inside MS Dhoni.
Suddenly, the gears shifted completely. Dhoni and CSK smashed 52 runs off the final 16 balls, dragging the total all the way to 175. There were trademark straight sixes launched into the Chennai night sky, — it was the complete Dhoni finishing package.
What made the innings so special was how perfectly constructed it was. He arrived inside the powerplay at 4.5 overs, absorbed the pressure, stabilized the innings, controlled the tempo throughout, and then exploded exactly when the team needed him to.
This is where experience matters, because constructing an innings like this isn’t easy and carrying the team from 27/3 to 175/5 is not easy.
And honestly, this knock of 75 felt like yet another reminder that the Dhoni resurgence was very real. It added further momentum to his already excellent 2019 form, which helped him solidify a spot to give everything, one last time in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, and try and help India win world cup gold after 8 years.
Well, that’s it for this post. It’s getting a little late here in India, but honestly, I genuinely enjoyed writing this one, and I really hope all of you enjoyed reading it too. This trip down memory lane brought back so many incredible moments, gave me goosebumps all over again, and honestly, gave me even more hope that MS Dhoni gets to retire the right way — hopefully with one final season in Yellow. But then again, with Dhoni, you truly never know what’s coming next.
And honestly, this is only the beginning. Very soon, we’ll be starting a special series where we revisit cricketers and their stories with their IPL franchises — and there honestly could not have been a better story to begin with than MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings, one of the greatest and most beautiful love stories in franchise cricket history. We’ll see you soon with that series. Until then, the regular match previews — along with a few more special posts — will keep coming.
See you soon!
Until next time!
Thank you.
SlogVlog 