[Watch] Jonty Rhodes thanks Deepak Hooda for dropping catch and delaying MS Dhoni's entry in LSG vs CSK IPL 2024 match
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fielding coach Jonty Rhodes gives away the Magic Mike award to the best fielders after every IPL 2024 game that Lucknow plays. However, he gave the award to Deepak Hooda this time around, ironically for dropping a catch in the game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Hooda dropped a regulation catch in the 17th over of Chennai's innings. Ravindra Jadeja hit a fuller delivery from Mohsin Khan towards long on but Hooda misjudged it and parried it over the fence for a six.
However, in a video posted by LSG after the game, Jonty Rhodes hilariously tried to find the logic behind how Deepak Hooda's dropped catch helped Lucknow win. He claimed that Hooda's drop delayed MS Dhoni's entry and prevented him from facing more deliveries. Here's what Jonty said:
"I think it was a smart decision by birthday boy Deepak Hooda to let the ball go for a six, so that meant Dhoni didn't come out for another five balls."
Here's the video:
The LSG dressing room burst into laughter and Hooda also took the joke sportingly, cheekily claiming that it was clever of him to drop Jadeja's catch.
LSG captain KL Rahul on MS Dhoni's presence
LSG skipper KL Rahul said the reception that MS Dhoni got when he walked out to bat at the Ekana Stadium made the former feel like it was an away game for the Super Giants.
Dhoni scored 28* off just nine balls, including three fours and a couple of massive sixes, and Rahul felt that it helped Chennai get an extra 10-15 runs. Here's what he told Marcus Stoinis after the game in a video posted by IPL:
"It's one of those games, even though it is a home game, it feels like an away game because the kind of crowd CSK and the one man MSD pulls in. It is just phenomenal. 160-165 would have been ideal, but again it is MSD. He walks in, and the pressure gets to the bowlers. That's the presence and intimidation that he's had over teams and oppositions and bowlers."
While Dhoni's cameo helped Chennai set a target of 177, Rahul's fantastic 82 off just 53 balls helped Lucknow win the game comfortably. They won by eight wickets with an over to spare.