CSK v PBKS: Dhoni’s Midas lives on; Livingstone does a Kumble & Bravo’s ballerina foxtrot at boundary ropes

2️⃣/4️⃣🪄✨⚡☄️
Every shot MS Dhoni performs, the stands brim with anticipation. He unfurls a fierce pull, the ball crackling from the sweetest spot of his bat, the ball fleecing the grass. But alas, a fielder would pounce from someplace and nick the ball off the ropes. He pulls out one other pull, the timing is sweeter, however is a stroll away for the fielder. He then rocks again and cuts a brief ball, however but once more, the dewy outfield slows the ball from reaching the fence. Anything fuller, he would nudge, clip, squirt, bunt a single. The stands are impatient. Yet, they cheer, but they leap out of the seats in fervent anticipation, like they see their first crush once more after years, or drench within the first bathe of the summer time. But they wait. Finally, off the twenty third ball he confronted, he managed to hit his first boundary, a six, off a slog sweep. Off the twenty fifth ball, he registers his second boundary, however a thick outdoors edge. That was the final of his boundaries. Yet, they cheered as he walked again to the dugout. Not maybe within the reminiscence of the boundaries he struck on April 3, 2022, Brabourne, however people who hit on April 2, 2011, Wankhede.

Lightning MSD 💥 @MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/U1FKrm2rUc

— Dhoni Army TN™ (@DhoniArmyTN) April 3, 2022

Liam legbreak mirrors Anil

🕺🏻🪞🕺🏻

Liam Livingstone’s bowling motto is obvious and easy. Leg-spin for right-handers and off-spin for left-handers. The leg-break devoured Shivam Dube, who for all his blustery batting was weak to the away-going ball, a vulnerability accentuated by his static ft. So a little bit of away flip was all it required to induce an fringe of Dube. The ball was shortish, quicker, however it bounced a fraction greater than the batter had anticipated and it turned away from him, taking a thick forefront with it. The dismissal had Punjab coach Anil Kumble leaping about within the dug-out with pleasure, not solely as a result of he had evicted probably the most harmful batsman, but additionally the an identical approach the grasp leg-spinner would dismiss batsmen in his prime. There for the pull, however not fairly pull-able. The subsequent ball, to the right-handed Dwayne Bravo, was fuller and floated into him. The ball appeared to pause an eternity after it bounced, however Bravo was presumptuously dedicated to a front-foot block. The ball hit the top-half of his bat and ballooned within the air, whereupon Livingstone flung to his left and swallowed the ball along with his left-hand.

An all-round present from Liam Livingstone 💥💥#LiamLivingstone #PBKS #CSKvsPBKS #IPL2022 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Sz0voiQzt1

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) April 3, 2022

Silvery, however scorching nonetheless

🧔🏼🦹🏻‍♂️⚡

Silvery streaks may need crept into MS Dhoni’s stubble and people as soon as lengthy locks like Samson, however his athleticism and anticipation stays untouched by the vagaries of time and age. The second Chris Jordan, the bowler, tees off to assemble the ball, dribbled to the leg-side by Shikhar Dhawan for a fast single, Dhoni begins his stump-ward dash, with quick, fast strides, spurting like a thoroughbred in his captain Ravindra Jadeja’s secure. He snaffles the throw, an tried direct hit, with each arms and realising that he was in need of time to whip off the bails, he lunges ahead, doesn’t throw on the stumps, as a result of he didn’t have time to take away the gloves and therefore the chance of an inaccurate throw, however drops the ball onto the stumps, like when some prostrate once they meet an elder particular person. And on the finish, set free a glad smile. An ageless smile after an ageless burst of athleticism.

Great response and struggle again from the staff 💪 Onto the subsequent one. @PunjabKingsIPL pic.twitter.com/o6a04O8tRf

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) April 3, 2022

Dhawan destructs Carib-style

😎🆒6️⃣🏖️

Unlike his trusted 50-over affiliate Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan just isn’t six-savvy (332 to 889 in aggressive cricket). Even when he plans to go over the ropes, he normally shimmies down the observe to generate momentum and swings by means of the road, or generally makes room to hit over covers. There, principally, is an quantity of premeditation. But towards Dwayne Bravo, he simply stood in his crease, took a agency ahead stride when he judged the ball was on the fuller facet and simply thumped him over long-on with none seen pressure on his physique or an exaggerated flourish, a six straight from the Caribbean handbook of six-hitting.

Ballerina by the boundary ropes

🩰🩰 ⛳

The momentum when he collected the ball appears to pull Dwayne Bravo in direction of the boundary ropes, careening the long-on-midwicket bend. But Bravo shifts his weight from the left-foot that was virtually hugging the cushion to the proper. He appears to be like to tumble, however he doesn’t. He then shuffles to his left-foot, then to his proper. At one second, he appears like he may stumble and is sort of able to fling the ball away, however with feline experience, he retains his physique abreast the dreaded ropes, like working beside an abyss of dragons in Temple Run. Remarkably, it was all ft, no flapping or the arms or contorting the physique for the elusive stability. Seems like he had placed on his dancing footwear and spent hours choreographing for the ballerina by the boundary ropes.