IPL 2019: Only MS Dhoni can make a defeat as spectacular as CSK's loss to RCB
The IPL 2019 match between CSK and RCB at the Chinnaswamy will be etched in everyone's memory for a long time. It witnessed one of the biggest comebacks in the history of cricket, and some of the most dramatic final overs ever seen.
Chennai Super Kings, the leaders of the IPL points table, were four wickets down for 32 in six overs. Their hopes were crumbling under the pace fury of Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav.
At that desperate moment, MS Dhoni came like a gentle zephyr. He didn't show any hurry or anxiety. He slowly gathered wind and turned into a whirlpool. Finally, the Dhoni storm made landfall on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium of Bangaluru, which left the spectators spellbound.
Dhoni’s heroic performance made an impossible target look achievable towards the end. He chased 161 runs with a 48-ball 84, aided by a partnership of 55 runs with Ambati Rayudu.
Dhoni blasted Umesh Yadav for 24 runs from the first five deliveries of the last over. RCB’s captain Virat Kohli lost his balance and his cool in the field as 'Thala' stormed his way towards victory. In the end he fell one run short, but CSK's defeat was as glorious as a victory.
During the innings, Dhoni looked like a hero of the epic movie 300. In that story, the Spartan warrior king Leonidas, along with 300 warriors, fought his way through the teeming horde of the Persian army, only to miss the target at the last moment.
Like Leonidas, Dhoni set his eyes on the target and remained unperturbed while his men were falling one by one at the other end. It almost seemed like he was possessed. The only difference was that Dhoni’s soldiers, except Rayudu to some extent, didn't support him in his epic battle.
In the last scene, Dhoni’s partner Shardul Thakur fell flat on the ground while making a frantic effort to reach the crease for an equalizer. The last scene of the film 300 was re-enacted here amid the crowd chanting in chorus - "Dho..ni! Dho..ni! Dho..ni!"
Dhoni plundered seven sixes and five fours in his whirlwind knock to silence all his critics, if at all there were any left. The unusually silent lion let his bat roar, much to the joy of millions of his fans across the country.
In an interview after the match, Dhoni said he had to calculate a lot durnig the big chase. Towards the end, Dhoni went beyond all calculations to prove once again that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.
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