‘I was inspired by MS Dhoni’ – Jonty Rhodes reveals why he helped ground staff during rain interruption in LSG-CSK encounter

When the rain began to fall heavily during Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) IPL 2023 match against Chennai Super Kings, fielding coach and former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes was on hand to assist ground staff at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow.

A video of the incident quickly went viral on the internet, and fans praised the former cricketer for his gesture. Rhodes then took to Twitter to reply to a fan who shared the video, and he credited MS Dhoni for inspiring him.

Thank you @Anand_ac314 I was actually inspired by @msdhoni and the way he handled the incredible support he was shown at #EkanaStadium. Not just a legend, but a great man too #7 #legend #greathuman #respectthegame,” he wrote on Twitter. 

Here is Jonty Rhodes’ tweet

In the meantime, Ayush Badoni’s scorching fifty had lifted LSG to a solid 125 for 7 after 19.2 overs when the rain started to fall. The match was eventually called off when the rain did not stop. After the first IPL 2023 washout, both teams shared one point each. Both LSG and CSK have 11 points and are in the top three in the points table.

Deepal Chahar, who returned to the side after a lengthy injury absence, and Tushar Deshpande bowled well early on to keep the LSG openers quiet. Kyle Mayers was subsequently dismissed for 14 by Moeen Ali, who delivered the first breakthrough. LSG lost five wickets in less than ten overs and 50 runs as Maheesh Theekshana took two wickets in two overs before Ravindra Jadeja sent back Marcus Stoinis.

With LSG struggling in the middle at 44 for 5, Badoni took the crease. The home team appeared to be unable to score even 100 runs as they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. However, Badoni and his partner Nicholas Pooran put on a 57-run stand for the sixth wicket to keep the ship afloat. When Pooran was dismissed, Badoni began to play his shots, bringing LSG to 125 for 7 before rain stopped play. In his superb innings, he hit two fours and four sixes.