IPL 2021: MS Dhoni's brilliant DRS call brings curtains to Quinton de Kock's knock

The second leg of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has gotten off to a thrilling start. Arch-rivals Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings locked horns in the first leg of the UAE leg and both teams have been neck to neck in the initial half. While the Men in Yellow suffered a top-order collapse while batting first, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s sensational half-century took CSK to a respectable total of 156/6.

In reply, MI got off to a fiery start with openers Quinton de Kock and Anmolpreet Singh attacking bowlers from the outset. However, the former walked back in the third over thanks to a brilliant review from CSK skipper MS Dhoni. De Kock, who was batting at 17 off 11 balls, couldn’t read an incoming good-length delivery from Deepak Chahar. While the pacer was sure the ball was hitting stumps, the umpire had a different perspective as he gave the decision in the batman’s favour.

MS Dhoni’s review brought curtains to Quinton de Kock’s knock

While the wicketkeeper-batsman would have been relieved with the umpire’s call, CSK asked technology for assistance. MS Dhoni, who looked in two minds initially, was convinced by Chahar to go upstairs. The decision proved to be spot on as the big screen showed the ball crashing into the stumps. While the CSK camp was delighted, a disappointed De Kock had to take the long walk back.

Meanwhile, the likes of Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh, and Suryakumar Yadav also fell prey cheaply after De Kock’s dismissal. It has to be noted that regular MI skipper Rohit Sharma didn’t feature in this game. Chahar was the wreaker-in-chief for CSK as he made the new ball talk.

He dismissed both openers before passing on the baton to Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo. As a result, MI got restricted to 62/4 at the 10-over mark. Hence, the Men in Blue and Gold need to score some quick runs in the end overs without losing too many wickets.

Meanwhile, both MI and CSK did pretty well in the first half. With five wins in seven games, the MS Dhoni-led were second in the team standings at the time of season suspension. At the same time, MI held fourth place, having won four of their first seven games.