MS Dhoni shares heartwarming moment with K Gowtham's daughter after Chennai vs Lucknow ITL 2023 clash

After losing to the defending champion Gujarat in the Indian T20 League 2023 opener, four-time champions Chennai rebounded to defeat Lucknow in the tournament's sixth match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After 1427 days, MS Dhoni and Chennai returned to Chepauk, where they last competed on May 7, 2019, against Mumbai.

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With a 110-run opening stand, Devon Conway (47 off 29) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (57 off 31) set the stage for the innings. In order to assist Chennai in scoring a challenging 217/7, Ambati Rayudu (27* off 14) and MS Dhoni (12 off 3) added the final touches. The Chennai spinners, led by Moeen Ali (4/26), created a web around the Lucknow batters and held them to 205/7, enabling them to win by 12 runs in their much-anticipated return home. In the same game, Dhoni became the first wicketkeeper-batter to reach 5000 ITL runs.

A massive Chennai Reunion followed after the Chennai vs Lucknow clash

After the game, there was a large reunion with former Chennai players Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa present at the venue. Five CSK legends were pictured hugging in a photo that the CSK franchise shared. Together with Rayudu and Jadeja, the other players in the picture are Dhoni, Raina, and Uthappa. After the game, MS Dhoni also met K Gowtham's family and posed for a few photos with them, which was a touching moment.

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In the powerplay, Lucknow scored 80/1. After Mitchell Santner and Moeen Ali removed KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, and Krunal Pandya from the game as Lucknow surged from 80/1 after 6 overs to 105/4 at the midway point of the innings, the spinners helped Chennai get back into the game. In the 16th over, Nicholas Pooran was caught at long off after scoring 32 runs in 18 balls and looking like he could lead them to victory.

Lucknow fell short by 12 runs and suffered their first loss of the 2023 season. When 62 runs were needed from 24, K Gowtham, Impact player Ayush Badoni, and Mark Wood could not help Lucknow get over the finish line. The Lucknow franchise's next game is against Hyderabad on April 7 in Lucknow. At the same time, Chennai has a thrilling match to look forward to against Mumbai, scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 8.