Left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad was left amazed by "out of the world" stumping from Chennai Super Kings icon MS Dhoni during their high-stakes encounter against Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Chepauk went bonkers after witnessing Dhoni's brilliance behind the stumps. The closest thing to the speed of light, Dhoni was at his level best behind the stumps during CSK's four-wicket win against MI. Dhoni's art with the gloves was up for show during the 11th over of the first inning. MI's stand-in captain, Suryakumar Yadav, decided to venture out of the crease and execute a booming inside-out drive. He couldn't pick Noor's wrist, got beaten, and before he could fathom the thought of returning to the crease, Dhoni, with lightning quickness, ignited the bails to have the stand-in skipper stumped on 29(26). "The focus was to land the ball in the right area, and Surya's wicket was special, and the stumping from MSD was out of the world. It feels great to have someone like Mahi bhai behind the stumps; it is a great support for me," Noor said in the post-match presentation. Noor swung the momentum in CSK's favour, justifying why the five-time champions shelled out Rs 10 crore for him during last year's mega auction. His unpredictable wrist spin kept MI batters in check, allowing him to thrive in front of the yellow sea. He returned with staggering figures of 4/18 and was crowned the Player of the Match. "It feels special to play here in the IPL. Happy for the team and happy with the contribution," Noor reflected on his performance. After picking up his first scalp in the form of Suryakumar, Noor weaved a perfect spin trap that MI hardly understood. Robin Minz skewed the ball straight to long off. Tilak Varma couldn't read the googly, while Naman Dhir tried to go for a sweep but failed to judge the ball's trajectory. He missed his shot completely, and the ball crashed into the stumps. His memorable spell restricted MI to 155/9, which CSK chased down courtesy of fiery fifties from Rachin Ravindra (65*) and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (53) and sealed a four-wicket win. (ANI)
|