Ahead of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) played an intra-squad practice match as a part of their preparations.
The game featured all the star CSK players, including MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and others.
Cheteshwar Pujara started the match with some big hitting and looked impressive in the brief highlights package. The right-handed batsman can be seen hitting a few boundaries on either side of the wicket in the video. Meanwhile, new recruit Moeen Ali was stumped after being deceived by a googly from Karn Sharma.
MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina can also be seen batting together for the first time since their respective retirements. The latter pulled out of IPL 2020 last year, citing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Skipper MS Dhoni could be seen hitting a few big shots in this video. On one occasion, he marched down the pitch and smashed South Africa's Hardus Viljoen straight back over his head.
He also hit Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi for a couple of boundaries after initially struggling against the bowler. Ravindra Jadeja also looked good with the bat and played some crisp shots.
Deepak Chahar also seemed to be in a good rhythm with the ball and managed to get Robin Uthappa caught at the slips. He dislodged another CSK batsman's stumps as well before the players shook hands at the end of the game.
CSK will play their first game of the season against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 10th. Having failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time in their history during IPL 2020, CSK will want to make a strong start to the tournament.