'You are the heartbeat of the team' - Shane Watson sends a heartwarming message to MS Dhoni for his 200th CSK game

The eighth encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is about to start at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Led by the inspirational Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK suffered a massive defeat in its tournament opener against the Delhi Capitals, who went about to chase 189 runs quite comfortably on the back of sensational half-centuries from both their openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan.

On the other hand, Punjab Kings was able to pull off a heist against Rajasthan Royals, where after posting 221 on the board thanks to KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda’s onslaught, they almost lost it against the might of Sanju Samson, who bludgeoned a 63-ball 119 before falling on the last ball as his side fell agonizingly short of the target.

After contrasting starts to their campaign, CSK would want to open their account against Punjab tonight (16th April 2021), whereas KL Rahul’s unit would aim at continuing to build upon their winning start.

MS Dhoni set to play his 200th fixture for CSK

Having been a regular face in the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni is on the cusp of another landmark as the upcoming encounter is going to be his 200th for his team Chennai Super Kings. Taking note of the same, MS Dhoni’s former CSK teammate Shane Watson took to Twitter to wish his skipper well ahead of a landmark game.

“Best of luck tonight MS for your 200th match for @ChennaiIPL. You are the heartbeat of the team and one of the greatest leaders in the game.” wrote Watson ahead of the game.

Notably, MS Dhoni has been the league’s most successful captain. He holds the record for captaining the most number of matches (189). Having won 110 of those, he has more wins than other leaders in the league’s history. In terms of win percentage, only Rohit Sharma (60.16%) is superior to Dhoni’s 58.51%.

In an illustrious IPL career, Dhoni has amassed 4632 runs at an average and strike rate of 40.46 and 136.67, respectively. He is the leading six-hitter in the league, with a whopping 216 to his name along with 23 half-centuries.