Dhoni's Endgame - 5 Classic last over finishes in the IPL
It’s commonplace by now that MS Dhoni specializes in the 'Endgame'. His last over exploits have been a thing for the past many years, and it never gets old. When it comes to the IPL, there are few sights better than Dhoni taking it deep and “finishing it off in style” against a hapless looking opposition.
Ever since CSK returned to the IPL arena last year, Dhoni has been at his imperious best for the team, leading the run-scoring charts both years. Leading them to the finals in both the years, and winning one, it was almost nerve-wracking when he said “hopefully yes” to the question if he would be there next season. But just like he pulls a last over miracle out of the hat every now and then, we know he will be back for yet another ride (and maybe a couple more).
So, here’s looking at 5 times when Dhoni was the miracle-worker for CSK (or RPSG) and pulled out one his last over classics.
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2019
A home game for CSK, and they were precariously placed at 88-4 in the 14th over, when Bravo joined Dhoni at the crease. Dhoni was at his usual self, pinching the singles and occasional boundaries and was at 33 of 30 balls at the end of the 16th over. He played out two overs from Archer without taking much risks, and the score read 147-5 in 19 overs. Dhoni played 4 balls in the last over, in which he collected 19 runs, including 3 sixes of the last 3 balls.
It was, to borrow from a cliché, vintage Dhoni as CSK finished at 175/5. They won the match by 8 runs, which shows how important the last over fireworks were. MS finished his innings at 75 off 46 balls, collecting 42 runs off his last 16 deliveries. A masterful construction of a T20 innings, that ensured CSK maintained their winning streak at home.