IPL 2020: MS Dhoni creates history, becomes first cricketer to play 200 IPL matches

Despite holding several IPL records, such as most wins as captain (107) and the most numbers of stumpings affected (38), MS Dhoni on Monday reached a huge landmark before anyone else. Dhoni, captain of the three-time winners Chennai Super Kings, has become the first and only cricketer to play 200 matches in the Indian Premier League.

IPL 2020, CSK vs RR Live Score

Ahead of the match, Dhoni, with 199 matches was the most-capped IPL player of all time, overtaking CSK teammate Suresh Raina, and on Monday, when Dhoni walked out for the toss for match 37 of the IPL 2020 featuring CSK and Rajasthan Royals, his record of 200 IPL matches was officially confirmed.

Dhoni has been with CSK from the very beginning in 2008. Of his 200 matches, 170 of them have been in the yellow jersey, while the remaining 30 were for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, a franchise he represented in 2016 and 2017 when CSK were banned for a couple of seasons.

In terms of matches, not too far behind Dhoni is IPL’s most successful captain Rohit Sharma, who is three matches away from playing his 200th IPL game. Raina is on 193 matches while another wicketkeeper batsman who is closing in on the 200-mark is former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik. With 191 matches though, Karthik will have to wait another season to get there.

So far, Dhoni has scored 4568 runs in the IPL, of which 3994 are for CSK. When he walks out to bat, he will be six runs shy of scoring 4000 runs for CSK, only the second after Raina to get there.