Last night's match at Vizag was a tale of two wicketkeepers: Mithali Raj

The scorecard took the backseat and the result hid under the sheets of formality when the night of 31^st March gave fans more entertainment than they could have asked for. The two heroes of Indian cricket operated at their level best to knit a complete package of fun, excitement, thrill, happiness, and whatnot in Vizag.

Seeing MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant unfold magic in pursuit of their respective team’s upliftment, former cricketer Mithali Raj had nothing but appreciation for them. Delhi got off the mark with a 20-run victory in Vizag while Chennai had their first heartbreak in what turned out to be Dhoni’s maiden outing with the bat this season.

“Last night's match at Vizag was a tale of two wicket-keepers.It was heartening to witness @RishabhPant17's fluent strokes after his prolonged absence from the cricket field. Despite ending up on the losing side, @msdhoni turned back the clock to narrow the margin of defeat and made the crowd go wild in the process,” Mithali tweeted.

Both the knocks by wicketkeepers were special in their own ways as they kept behind injury, age factor, lack of match-time, and other odds to fly high in an intense affair. While batting first, Pant came to the crease when Delhi were set well by Shaw and Warner with their 43, and 52 respectively. However, the moment asked the young wicketkeeper to break shackles, the preliminary steps of which were already taken by him during DC’s earlier two games.

MS Dhoni rewinds the clock in an away game

Pant kept his calm intact and played a resurging knock of 52 of 35 to brush away haunting memories of his near-fatal crash which once made fans sceptical of the young man’s comeback on the cricket field.

Talking of another knock that probably made fans thank their fortunes for witnessing it live was produced by none other than evergreen hero MS Dhoni. Dhoni, in pursuit of a 192-run target and asking rate over 18, gave his sweat and blood to bring up a fiery 37* off 16. Dhoni turned back the clock while displaying an array of stunning strokes, covering the entirety of the field and flaunting the finest wristwork. The fans, who made sure to make a yellow sea at Vizag, walked past the result of the game when Dhoni played some of the shots he mastered during his prime.