IPL 2020: MS Dhoni takes diving catch to break IPL record during KKR vs CSK

MS Dhoni Catches Record: MS Dhoni took a diving catch to set a wicketkeeping record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday.

By completing a stunning catch of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Shivam Mavi, Dhoni now has the most catches as a wicketkeeper in the IPL. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper overtook his KKR counterpart Dinesh Karthik. Dhoni now has 104 catches in the IPL while Karthik has 103.

KKR won the toss and opted to bat on Wednesday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Only KKR batsman Rahul Tripathi batted well, while the others kept throwing away their wickets at the other end. Tripathi scored a 51-ball 81 and his knock included three sixes and eight fours. After Dwayne Bravo dismissed Tripathi in the 17th over, KKR were at 140 for 6 in 16.5 overs. Karthik's side added another 27 runs to the total before they got bowled out in 20 overs.

With three deliveries left in the final over, Mavi came out to bat. Dhoni took off his glove from his right hand as he was preparing to restrict a single as Mavi was at the strike. Bravo bowled a fuller length delivery to Mavi, who went for a big hit, but instead only managed an outside edge. Dhoni flew to his right, fisted the ball with his bare right hand before he dove forward to complete an astounding catch. CSK fielder Shane Watson, who was at the short third man gave a priceless reaction to that effort from his skipper.

MS Dhoni's catch also helped Bravo join the 150 wickets club in the IPL. Bravo became the second overseas player after Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga to the landmark. The fast bowler, who pulled out of the tournament right at the beginning, has picked up 170 from 122 matches - all for Mumbai Indians. Overall, he was the fifth bowler to the milestone after Malinga, Amit Mishra (160), Piyush Chawla (156), and Harbhajan Singh (150).

The record aside, Dhoni did not end the match on a high as his side, CSK, lost the match by 10 runs to KKR on Wednesday. Chasing KKR's target of 168, only opening batsman Watson played well as he registered a half-century. The next best was Ambati Rayudu, who scored 30 from 27 balls. After the win, KKR now have clinched three victories in five matches, while CSK have only two victories in as many as six games.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhoni said," In the middle overs there was a phase where they bowled 2-3 good overs. If we batted better and didn't lose 2-3 wickets in a row. We should've been careful in the first 5-6 overs. Curran was really good with the ball, and I think we did well in general with the ball, but the batsmen let the bowlers down today.

Rotation of strike was important, but I think there were hardly any boundaries in the final few overs, so we need to be innovative at the end when they are continuously hitting a back of a length. That's where we need to adapt better with the bat and I don't think we did that."