MS Dhoni TROLLED as 'Duck' trends on Twitter for his performance during CSK vs DC

MS Dhoni's return to cricket did not start on a good note as the Chennai Super Kings skipper failed to open his account in his team's opening match in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) against Delhi Capitals. Last season the Men in Yellow failed to advance to the playoffs for the first time after a disastrous campaign and at the time of writing, Delhi Capitals were sitting quite comfortably in a winning position. 

IPL 2021 live: MS Dhoni trolled for going out for duck

MS Dhoni who came to bat after the fall of Suresh Raina's wicket in the 16th over did not last long at the crease as he was dismissed by Capitals pacer Avesh Khan for a duck. The 39-year-old chopped the ball back onto the stumps following which he took a long walk back to the dressing room. This was Dhoni's fourth duck in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and his first after a gap of six years. 

Following his failure to open his account, fans were quick to flood social media with trolls over the former Team India skipper's poor performance with the bat.

CSK vs DC score: CSK vs DC highlights

Thanks to a fine half-century from Suresh Raina (54 runs) and some quick runs low down the order from Sam Curran (34 runs off 15 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (26 runs from 17 balls), CSK managed to post 188 runs for the loss of 7 wickets, asking DC to chase 189 runs to win in 20 overs. 

After being asked to bat first, CSK lost openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis early, but Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina built a good partnership to get the team out of trouble. Moeen Ali looked dangerous with the bat and looked like taking away the match from DC with some big hits.

The left-hander was severe on R Ashwin, however, the off-spinner had the last laugh as he dismissed him for 36 off 24 balls with Dhawan taking the catch. Suresh Raina (54 runs off 36 balls) saw four monstrous sixes before getting run out. Rayudu added 23 off 16, while Dhoni was dismissed for a duck by Avesh Khan. 

At the time of writing, DC were 152/1 with 36 more runs needed to win the match. The foundation for the road to win was laid by opener Prithvi Shaw with his attacking 72 off 38 balls and an opening stand of 138 runs with Shikhar Dhawan. 

MS Dhoni IPL record

Dhoni has played 205 IPL games so far in his career since the inception of the tournament in 2008, scoring 4632 runs. However, the previous edition was not the best for the former India skipper as he scored just 200 runs in 14 matches as his team finished in the second-last position on the points table. 

Meanwhile, this was also the first time that the Chennai-based franchise failed to make the playoffs since the inaugural edition. Mahi has led Chennai to three IPL titles (2010, 2011 & 2018 editions) and eight finals. CSK had also won the now-defunct CLT20 twice (2010 & 2014) under his captaincy. 

Image: IPL / Instagram