CSK vs LSG: Iceland Cricket keen on signing up MS Dhoni as they ridicule CSK

The Iceland Cricket Association took a cheeky dig at the Chennai Super Kings after their clash against the Lucknow Super Giants ended last night at the Ekana stadium.

Iceland's cricket board took to X (formerly Twitter) and claimed that they would have let CSK's former captain MS Dhoni bat at a higher position instead of sending him at number 8 like his franchise does.

The Icelandic CA also made a funny claim that Dhoni is not being given a proper chance to showcase his talent and that he is most welcome to their team. 

This particular tweet was made by the Iceland board after they, along with billions of fans around the world, witnessed MS Dhoni's wrath at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow. MSD came out all guns blazing against the Lucknow Super Giants and once again proved why he was considered the best finisher in the world.

The 42-year-old, unfazed by his age, contributed for his team at a wealthy strike rate of 311 which helped CSK post a total of 176, which at one point looked quite distant. 

MS Dhoni's rage from number 8 proves costly for LSG 

After losing the toss in Lucknow, Ruturaj Gaikwad's side was put to bat first on a relatively slower pitch than other venues of the IPL. Chennai also had a new opening pair start the innings for them as Gaikwad was pushed down at number 3 while Ajinkya Rahane came to open with Rachin Ravindra.

CSK's start to the innings wasn't one of the best that we have seen from them. Rahane had just scored a boundary in the first over but in the first ball of the 2nd over, Ravindra was bowled for a golden duck by Mohsin Khan. 

Then Gaikwad, after scoring a very slow 17 runs, left the crease in the 5th over while Rahane departed for 36 off 24 in the 8th over and CSK's score was 68 at that time. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had walked in after Gaikwad's departure while Shivam Dube replaced Rahane.

As Jadeja batted on, he first saw Dube depart cheaply for 3 runs and also saw Sameer Rizvi squander a great opportunity to showcase his talent as the UP man got stumped for 1 off 5. 

The visitors were 5/90 and Moeen Ali had walked into bat for the first time this season. Ali smashed a wonderful 30 off 20 along with 3 sixes and by the time he left, CSK were 141/6 by the end of 18th over.

Then came the man that the crowd in Ekana stadium was desperate to see - 5-time IPL winning captain MS Dhoni. He was any way in a very good touch, having smashed 20 off 4 balls in Chennai's previous match against Mumbai Indians.

MS Dhoni once again took on the bowlers from number 8 and this time, he smacked 3 fours and 2 sixes to score 28 off just 9 at a strike rate of 311. That helped his team post a 170+ total but KL Rahul and de Kock's opening partnership in the 2nd innings, drained all of Dhoni's efforts. 

What did the Iceland board say about MSD?

While writing on X, the Iceland Cricket Association cheekily said that MS Dhoni looks like a great young prospect who is not getting enough chances with CSK. They also said that if Dhoni had signed up to play for Iceland, then he would have been given a chance to bat in the top-order. 

"We'd bat this guy MS Dhoni a bit higher than 8 if he played for Iceland. He looks like a good young prospect and is not getting the chance to show his talent at CSK." - the Iceland CA wrote on X. 

We'd bat this guy MS Dhoni a bit higher than 8 if he played for Iceland. He looks like a good young prospect and is not getting the chance to show his talent at CSK.

— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) April 19, 2024