MS Dhoni arrived in the middle at a crunch situation!
MS Dhoni on Thursday showcase his vintage self once again and finished the match 'in style' for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as they beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by three wickets. Dhoni put fourth last over heroics by hitting back - to - back boundaries to hand CSK a victory in the going IPL 2022. The former CSK caption turned the game around in the final over and landed his team a victory from jaws of defeat.
Dhoni, who is often lauded for his match finishing skills, faced MI pacer Jaydev Unadkat in the dying minutes of the game as CSK needed 16 off 4 balls to win. Bringing his vintage game to the pitch, the former skipped smashed the MI pacer for 6,4,2 and 4 in four balls to win the match for his side. Dhoni ended the innings on 28 from 13 deliveries at a strike rate of 215.38.
Dhoni's heroics in the death over was met by amazing reactions from teammates and fans including current CSK caption Ravindra Jadeja, who bowed down to him in respect after the final ball. Meanwhile, many from the cricketing fraternity also took cognisance of the heroic innings by the Indian World Cup - winning skipper and lauded the same.
While many showered praises on the 40 - year - old for his heroics, a few asked if he could return from retirement for the national side after the fiery innings. Former teammate Suresh Raina was one among the first to take to social media to praise Dhoni for his innings, he wrote, "Dhoni Bhai at the end, always a delight to watch!"
Soon after his post, several ex - cricketers took to Twitter and shared their thoughts on Dhoni's last over heroics.
Virendra Sehwag wrote, MS Dhoni...Om Finishaya Namaha. What a win. Romba Nalla #MIvsCSK. Kartik Murali wrote, "Unreal this is what made this man the icon he is...THE MAHI MICROPROCESSOR is working perfectly fine...don't u worry about it…Absolutely Unreal...#CSKvsMI#IPL2022
Further, former Indian teammate Amit Mishra among others to react to their former skipper’s innings. Meanwhile, former teammate RP Singh took to Twitter to ask if Dhoni could come out from retirement for the next T20 World Cup. Furthermore, former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad went on to call Dhoni "the greatest last over batter" following the match.
Apart from Indian cricketers, England Women's team cricketer Kate Cross, former English cricketer Graeme Swann, Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi was also among others to laud Dhoni for his heroic innings.
Dhoni arrived in the middle at a crunch situation, with the match slightly tilting in MI's favour. However, he along with Dwaine Pretorius stitched a crucial 34 - run stand for the seventh wicket. This was CSK's second win of the campaign, while Mumbai endured their seventh consecutive defeat.
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