MS Dhoni is arguably the greatest finisher in world cricket. At his prime, the hard hitter was able to take on any bowler to score while chasing huge targets.
He became the epitome in successful run chases for Indian cricket. However, one of the most remembered knocks of MS Dhoni came in 2016 at Visakhapatnam. The game was a dead rubber between Rising Pune Super Giants and Kings XI Punjab.
The match was the last game of the group stage for both the teams. And they were the bottom ranked amongst the eight teams that season. The winning side in this match would end up in 7th position while the loser would finish rock bottom in the table that season.
Murali Vijay and Gurkeerat Singh Mann scored half-centuries while batting first. Kings XI Punjab managed to score a decent 172/7 in their 20 overs after choosing to bat.
While chasing 173 on a slow Vizag track, Pune team lost their way through the middle of the innings. At one point they were 86/5 in 14 overs and lost complete hope in winning the match.
MS Dhoni Super Knock Saves The Day
Despite looking down the barrel of defeat, the team had only one hope in MS Dhoni. And the hard hitting batsman came into his fore in the final overs of the innings.
After increasing their pace of scoring, Rising Pune Supergiants were left with a massive 23 runs needed of last over. Ultimately it came down to 22 runs from 5 balls and many felt that the match is out of hand.
Dhoni managed to score 6, 0, 4, 6, 6 in the final over and gave Pune one of their most cherished wins in IPL. The dot was of course Dhoni was reluctant to take a single courtesy of some outstanding fielding by Hashim Amla at the boundary.
Despite the massive pressure, Dhoni kept his cool and helped Pune clinch a great win. Axar Patel was the victim of Dhoni’s hitting that day. Of course, he is not the only player to ever face his bat’s wrath. Needless to say, Dhoni answered his critics in some style that day. On the other hand, he also proved he was the best finisher in world cricket that day.
