Action from the Indian Premier League returned to TV screens on Sunday, from the United Arab Emirates, with Chennai Super Kings defeating defending champions Mumbai Indians by 20 runs. And despite missing out with the bat, former Indian skipper and CSK captain MS Dhoni once again proved his leadership acumen.

In the third over of Mumbai’s chase in Dubai, opener Quinton de Kock was wrapped on the pads off a Deepak Chahar in-dipper. After umpire Richard Illingworth nodded against the CSK appeals, Dhoni wasted no time in gesturing for a review of the on-field call.

The TV umpire discovered three reds on his screen and the fans of Dhoni flooded the internet with reminders of his success with the DRS (or as they call it: the ‘Dhoni Review System’).

Be it to save non-striker Yuvraj Singh during the India-England bilateral ODIs in 2017, or the umpteen number of times as the wicketkeeper in the IPL, Dhoni has proved his expertise at using the DRS time and again.

His most latest exploit helped trigger a Mumbai Indians’ top-order collapse. In the absence of the injured captain Rohit Sharma, the current champions found themselves 58/4 in the 10th over.

They dearly missed the services of all-rounder Hardik Pandya down the order, who didn’t feature due to a mystery injury/illness. MI’s only shining light Saurabh Tiwary (50*) constantly kept losing partners at the other end, which ultimately spelled doom for the MI chase.

Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 88 rescued CSK from being reduced to 30 for 4 in the powerplay. A quick-fire cameo from Dwayne Bravo (23 off 8) then propelled their total beyond the 150-mark.

After this result, CSK sit atop the table, joint with the Delhi Capitals, with 12 points after eight games. It marks a triumphant return from Dhoni & Co, who failed to finish among the top four last season.

They will now eye a berth in the playoffs having continued their rich run of form from before the interruption.

Images: IPLT20.com, VIVO IPL, BCCI