Cool To Share The Crease With MS Dhoni For First Time: Rachin Ravindra

Rachin Ravindra showed his class in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 game against Mumbai Indians (MI) as he remained unbeaten on 65 off just 45 to take Chennai Super Kings (CSK) home in a tricky run-chase at Chepauk.

With wickets falling around him, Ravindra stood firm and added a quickfire 67-run second wicket stand with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad to set the tone.

However, he had firsthand experience of batting with MS Dhoni, with the decibel levels going up upon the latter's arrival. With four required to win, the faithful Chepauk crowd would have loved to see Dhoni smash a six and finish it off in style. However, it was Ravindra who sealed the game with a six.

"It's difficult to soak it in when you're in the moment because you're simply focused on winning the game for the team," Ravindra said after the game.

"It's hard to ignore, though. You hear Dhoni come out with the whistles and the noise. It's cool to share the crease with him for the first time. He's a legend of the game, and people love him here. So it's special.

"All the crowd would have been hoping that I gave him [the strike] and he finished it. But it's just about getting the job done. He has finished so many games to CSK, and I'm sure there's plenty more to come."

An injury to Devon Conway saw Ravindra get an opportunity to open for CSK last season. While not retaining them ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, CSK bought back Conway and used the Right to Match card on Ravindra to ensure some continuity with their batting. 

Ravindra, who has had a couple of brilliant years with the bat for New Zealand, said he is honoured to open for CSK and follow in the footsteps of some of the legends of the game.

"A few days ago, I guess, and Flem's [head coach Stephen Fleming] quite good at those calls," Ravindra said about when he was told he would open.

"It's always an honour to open for CSK knowing the history of it. And you look back at the heroes like the [Michael] Husseys, the [Shane] Watsons, the [Brendon] McCullums, the [Faf] du Plessis, the Rutus [Ruturaj Gaikwad]. I feel like I'm missing a few names there… [Matthew] Haydens, the Conways.

"It's certainly an honour. They have been guys who've done so well. I'm definitely grateful to be in this role. We'll take a game by game, and we know it's a long tournament. So, we'll just see what happens."

Ravindra acknowledged that there has not been much training leading up to the tournament, but he hopes to continue his form for the rest of the tournament.

"It hasn't been too much training because I've been playing a lot of cricket, especially in the Champions Trophy," Ravindra said. "So it's been nice to have that [familiarity] coming to similar-ish conditions. That's been a cool bit of prep.

"[Last season] probably didn't go as well as I would have wanted at the end. But slowly starting to find a wee bit of a tempo in that last game against [Royal Challengers] Bangalore, in Bangalore, and hopefully may continue. Look, we know T20 is a fickle game, and results go up and down. But hopefully, I can bat the way I want to and hit good cricket shots, and it results in wins for our CSK."

CSK will hope to make it two in two when they take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 28 (Friday).