IPL 2018: Each franchise's designated finisher
In the gung-ho, slam-bang format of cricket that is T20, finishing is extremely critical. The format's limited number of overs makes it extremely dynamic and the game can change over its head in the blink of an eye.
This makes the role of a finisher crucial in the shortest format of the game. The last few overs more often than not define the course of the game. The two most successful teams in the IPL so far, the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, have had clinical finishers in their teams.
Let us take a look at the likely designated finisher for each team in IPL 2018:
Chennai Super Kings - Mahendra Singh Dhoni
If you are surprised seeing his name on this list, you haven't watched enough of the Indian Premier League. MS Dhoni has played the finisher's role for the Chennai Super Kings since its inception and he has done justice to it to say the very least.
Time and again, Dhoni has shown why he is the one of the, if not the best finisher out there. He has managed to win games for his team from crunch situations. Apart from his captaincy, his finishing skills have been crucial in the Super Kings' success over the years. In his 159 games in the Indian Premier League, he has amassed 3561 and has remained not out on 49 occasions.
The Super Kings will be hoping that Dhoni continues what he has done for them in the past, so as to pick up things from where they left off two years back.