Twitter users made shocking allegations of match-fixing against ex-Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni in the aftermath of his record knock against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this week.

 

MS Dhoni, who has been at his explosive best in the IPL this season, took the LSG bowlers to the cleaners in their IPL contest in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

 

The veteran CSK batter lifted the spirits in the CSK camp following his blistering unbeaten knock of 28 off 9 balls, which featured two monumental sixes and three boundaries.

 

The former India skipper arrived at the crease after the fall of Moeen Ali's wicket in the 18th over and immediately went after the LSG bowlers, smashing them along the ground as well as over their heads with his immaculate placement and brute power doing the rest.

 

Among the sixes was a monstrous 101-meter hit off the bowling of LSG pacer Yash Thakur in the final over of CSK's innings.

 

After Yash Thakur pitched the ball up, MS Dhoni struck it with force over the Mid-On boundary before it landed way back in the stands. 

 

Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri was on air when MS Dhoni smashed Yash Thakur for a six. He described it as “he's picked the bones out of it. It's a massive six.”

 

While several cricket admirers lauded MS Dhoni for his knock, some shared their anger over his “hero-worshipping.” 

 

A few even commented that with the T20 World Cup around the corner, India should look at the future and not get stuck in its past.

 

On the other hand, a section of Team India's supporters on the microblogging website accused MS Dhoni of “intentionally” losing the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. The then Virat Kohli-led side was beaten by 18 runs by the Kiwis in what was a heartbreaking defeat in England. 

 

The semifinal loss is best remembered for being MS Dhoni's last match in Team India colors. 

 

After Team India's top order collapsed, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja came together to put India's run chase back on track. Just when it appeared like the duo would pull through a heist, MS Dhoni was run out for 50. 

 

Yet, fans on Twitter blamed his slow knock (50 off 72 balls) for India's 2019 defeat at the Old Trafford Stadium.

 

Meanwhile, still hurt by India's loss in the 2019 World Cup semifinal, a group of loyal supporters of the Men in Blue expressed that both MS Dhoni and the IPL were involved in match-fixing and that's why the former was hitting sixes almost at will in the ongoing edition of the T20 event. 

 

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If that wasn't the case, MS Dhoni would have sent the ball sailing over the ropes five years ago to take India home in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. 

It is worth highlighting that during his quickfire innings against LSG, the legendary cricketer became the first player to complete 5000 runs as a wicketkeeper-batter in the IPL.

 

Though MS Dhoni's late burst took CSK to 176/6 in their allocated 20 overs, his entertaining knock went in vain as the visitors lost the contest by 8 wickets as LSG skipper KL Rahul took his team to a comfortable victory with an unbeaten 82 off 53 deliveries.

 

Nonetheless, this wasn't the first time MS Dhoni lit up the IPL in 2024. 

 

In the previous clash against the Mumbai Indians, he struck all-rounder Hardik Pandya for three consecutive sixes, finishing his innings on an unbeaten 20 off 4 balls. 

 

Interestingly, with his heroics against LSG in Uttar Pradesh, MS Dhoni's tally of runs in 20th overs in the IPL surged to 772. Remarkably, his runs in the final over of the innings in the cash-rich league have come at a stunning strike rate of 246.64.

 

In IPL 2024, he's scored 57 runs in the last over of CSK's essay so far. But it is worth noticing that he made these runs in only 16 balls with the help of four boundaries and six maximums. 

 

MS Dhoni's scintillating batting in the IPL earned him immense praise from former cricketers Aaron Finch, Tom Moody, and Wasim Jaffer.

“How many times have we seen that swing over the years around the wicket, straight into his arc, the form that he's in? He might be 42 but he's playing like he's 22. It's unbelievable striking,” Aaron Finch said on air.

 

“42 years old, still very fit, still very focussed, still very hungry, but the puzzle is, he does not play any cricket coming in and playing in the IPL. It is hard to come out of the cold and suddenly have that expectation to be able to perform at an elite level is near impossible,” Tom Moody said in a conversation with ESPNcricinfo.

 

“It's incredible. Hitting in the death (overs) is the most difficult things, to the bowlers who are in the top of their game and playing international cricket. He does that so easily. It's incredible to watch him do that without any match practice, without playing any cricket between IPL,” Wasim Jaffer concluded.