Watch: Stubborn Bails Ruin MS Dhoni's Unbelievable Run-Out Attempt

MS Dhoni led-Chennai Super Kings would have only cursed their luck had they ended up on the losing side against Kings XI Punjab. Batting first, the Super Kings scored 160 for 3 in the allotted 20 overs. Faf du Plessis, playing his first game of the season, and Shane Watson started well after MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first.  The two added 56 runs in 43 balls before Ravi Ashwin dismissed Watson.

Du Plessis  reached his fifty in the 13th over when he hit M Ashwin for a maximum. But just when it looked like the Super Kings would accelerate, R Ashwin dealt them a double blow by dismissing du Plessis and Suresh Raina on back-to-back deliveries in the 14th over to leave the Super Kings reeling at 101 for 3 from 100 for 1.

MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu then began the repair work and the run-rate dropped soon. The 15th over yielded 7 runs while the following two overs yielded just 2 and 6 as Super Kings were 116 for 3 after 17 overs. However, Dhoni and Rayudu soon shifted gears to score 44 runs from the remaining three overs and fire Super Kings to a challenging total. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 37 off 23 while Rayudu slammed 21 off 15.

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In reply, Kings XI started in a disastrous way. They lost both Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal for just seven runs on the board.

Watch: Stubborn Bails Ruin MS Dhoni's Unbelievable Run-Out Attempt
Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI by 22 runs (Credits: IPL)

But before Chennai Super Kings could make further inroads in the game, KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan steadied the ship. At the end of the powerplay, the Kings XI were 55 for 2.  At the halfway stage, the scoreboard was reading 71 for 2 with both the batsmen looking pretty comfortable in the middle.

Kings XI Punjab breached the 100-run mark in the 14th over. In the very following over, Sarfaraz reached his fifty off 42 balls. Rahul soon joined the fifty-club too but the required rate kept mounting. The Kings XI eventually needed 46 from the last three overs but ended up 22 runs short.

However, things could have panned out differently had Rahul decided to make the most of his reprieve in the 13th over.  Rahul tried to seep a delivery from Ravindra Jadeja but could not make a fine connection. He, however, ran for a single straightaway. In the meantime, Dhoni charged towards the ball and brilliantly flicked the ball back on the stumps, leaving the commentators mighty stunned. The throw was perfect but unfortunately the bails did not come off.

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Here is a clip of that incident involving MS Dhoni and KL Rahul:

https://twitter.com/PRINCE3758458/status/1114543090830696449

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