LSG vs CSK: Watch: KL Rahul's heartwarming cap-off gesture before embracing MS Dhoni goes viral

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul won hearts with his gesture of respect for the legendary Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain and wicketkeeper-batsman, MS Dhoni, after the LSG vs CSK clash in the Indian Premier League 2024.

KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took on Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, April 19, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.

Lucknow Super Giants emerged victorious in the match by 8 wickets to make their case strong for reaching their third consecutive playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Winning the toss and bowling first, LSG restricted CSK to a total of 176/6, thanks to the good bowling performance of the team. Krunal Pandya picked up two wickets while Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, and Mohsin Khan bagged one wicket each.

Chasing the target, KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock batted magnificently and took their team to a flyer. De Kock (54) and Rahul (82) showcased a batting masterclass but weren't able to finish the match. However, a good start, set LSG up for a win and Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis capitalised on it to steer LSG to a win.

After the match ended, the customary post-match handshake tradition started and KL Rahul hugged his counterpart Ruturaj Gaikwad before moving to embrace MS Dhoni. As a mark of respect for the legendary MS Dhoni, KL Rahul removed his cap before shaking hands with the CSK legend and his gesture won the hearts of the fans. KL Rahul also showered rich praise on MS Dhoni after the match and said that the wicketkeeper-batsman puts pressure on bowlers as he steps onto the field to bat.

Watch: KL Rahul's Gesture Of Respect For MS Dhoni Wins Hearts 

Nicholas Pooran with the winning runs as #LSG register their 4️⃣th win of the season 🙌

They get past #CSK by 8 wickets with a comprehensive performance in Lucknow!

Recap the match on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #LSGvCSK pic.twitter.com/rxsCoKaDaR

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 19, 2024

Hats off to the way they played and they finished obviously with MS Dhoni - Marcus Stoinis 

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) star all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was in awe of MS Dhoni's finishing ability as the CSK great smashed 28 runs off just 9 balls against LSG. Marcus Stoinis said:

"With how we started with the ball and taking early wickets, I think we could have kept them under that total. Hats off to the way they played and they finished obviously with MS. They played well towards the end but it's a nice wicket and we built some partnerships."

Marcus Stoinis added that the victory over Chennai Super Kings was an important one for them and expressed delight over returning to winning ways. Marcus Stoinis said:

"We did need that, it was an very important win for us. We've got these guys - Chennai - in a couple of days' time, it's important two games for us, it's nice to be back on the winning board. We are playing good cricket. Quinny (de Kock) and KL batted beautifully to pretty much seal it and then Nicky (Pooran) came in and iced the cake. That's an important partnership for us at the top. Having that continuity, having them get us off to a start allows us to play the rest of the innings and to build an order around it as well."

Marcus Stoinis further said that the LSG are high on confidence as different players are stepping up from time to time to help the team win. He elaborated:

"We've got that confidence with our team and the nice thing about this season so far is there's been different boys stepping up and chipping in to win these games at different stages. We've had our bowling attack bowl well, we've had our batters bat well, had our opening partnership tonight. Different people are putting their hand up which I think is a great sign for the team. I said to KL if I was done for the next four games or are you going to give me the ball again. I wanna bowl, if you can get into the captain's ear and just push that, it'll be great."