MS Dhoni on playing 200th IPL game: Feels good, but it's just a number

Abu Dhabi, October 19: Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first player to play 200 IPL games during Chennai Super Kings' match against Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi on Monday (October 19).

While it was a huge milestone, the CSK skipper MS Dhoni said he was made aware of it only at the toss.

"You spoke about it and that's how I got to know," Dhoni told 'Star Sports' presenter Danny Morrison at the toss.

The former Indian skipper also added that 200 is just a number, but he admitted that he was fortunate to play for such a long time.

"It feels good but at the same time it's just a number. I feel fortunate to play for such a long time without many injuries."

In a match that is important for both the teams, CSK skipper Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

MS Dhoni creates history, becomes first player to make 200th IPL appearance

Dhoni has been the captain of CSK since IPL began in 2008. However, the veteran player represented Rising Pune Supergiant, when CSK was suspended for two years. He has made 170 appearances for CSK, while he made 30 appearances for RPS in 2016 and 2017.

Earlier in the tournament, he overtook Suresh Raina (194 games) to become the player with most appearances. He also completed 4500 IPL runs and also reached a milestone for catches in IPL.

In 199 games, the former India captain amassed 4,568 runs, which includes 23 fifties, with a highest score of 84 not out. His strike-rate reads 137.67.

With 215 maximums, Dhoni also ranks third in the list of big-hitters in the tournament after Chris Gayle (333 sixes) and AB de Villiers (231 sixes). However, this season, he could only manage 136 runs in nine outings so far with 6 sixes.

He can reach two more milestone in Match 37 of IPL 2020 as he needs respectively one dismissal and 6 runs to complete 150 IPL dismissals and 4000 IPL runs for CSK.