IPL 2020: MS Dhoni hits the ball out of Sharjah Stadium, passerby picks up the ball and walks away - Watch

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Sharjah, Sep 22: Chennai Super Kings lost their second league game to Rajasthan Royals by 16 runs in a high-scoring encounter here in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 on Tuesday (September 22). Chasing a target of 217, the MS Dhoni-led side could only muster 200 in the stipulated 20 overs.

Rare are the occasions when MS Dhoni remains not out and CSK end up on the losing side in a run chase. Dhoni - who returned to competitive cricket after a gap of 14 months - remained unbeaten on 29 off 17 deliveries. His three back-to-back towering sixes in the final over of the match were enough to send the warning signals to the bowlers that he's still capable of hitting those monstrous sixes once he's set.

In the final over bowled by Tom Curran, Dhoni smoked the first maximum out of the stadium as it landed on Sharjah streets. It was a sight to behold as the ball travelled into the orbit.

The cameras showed that a passerby on the road picked up the ball and took it with himself as a souvenir.

Later, Dhoni hammered two more maximums off Curran to make three in a row but he couldn't take his team home as they required 38 from the final over.

Talking about why he didn't promote him up in the order, the 39-year-old said: "I haven't batted for a long time. 14-day quarantine doesn't help. Also, (we) wanted to try different things, give opportunities to Sam (Curran) and (Ravindra) Jadeja. Have the opportunity to try different things. If it doesn't work, you can always go back to your strengths."

Talking about Faf du Plessis' valiant knock of 72 runs off 37 deliveries in their run chase, Dhoni said: "Faf adapted very well. Something the batsmen will do, neglect square leg and go more towards long-on and long-off."

Chennai bowlers paid the price of bowling at the wrong line and length which helped the opposition batters to score heavily. CSK have a plenty to ponder over from this game.