Dhoni's hat-trick of sixes steals the show: CSK clinches thrilling victory against MI at Wankhede
His explosive 20-run blitz was the game-changer, as MI fell short exactly by 20 runs at the end, giving CSK its first away win of the season. If this was Dhoni’s last appearance at the iconic Wankhede, he made it unforgettable.
MS Dhoni during the match against KKR (Photo: Hemanathan)
CHENNAI: On a thrilling ‘IPL Classico’ Sunday night at Wankhede, MS Dhoni sent the crowd berserk as he unleashed hat-trick of sixes off Hardik Pandya in an electrifying final over.
His explosive 20-run blitz was the game-changer, as MI fell short exactly by 20 runs at the end, giving CSK its first away win of the season. If this was Dhoni’s last appearance at the iconic Wankhede, he made it unforgettable.
After handing over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad before the start of the season, the 42-year-old is enjoying his final days of his career with the yellow. Despite coming into the season after knee surgery and not playing competitive cricket for 10 months, he is proving once again why he is called the greatest finisher of the game with his bedazzling performances.
"Everyone else is more interested in his injuries than he is. He's one of the hardest men I've ever come across. I don't even think we know to what extent he may or may not be in pain. He just carries on and does his thing," said CSK's bowling consultant bowling Eric Simmons.
"I'm sure there's some niggles. He just has that ability to ignore what it is and do what needs to be done. We're more concerned about his injuries. When I say we, I mean the public (which) is more concerned about his injuries than he is," Simmons added.
This season, he has scored 59 runs off 25 balls and still hasn’t been dismissed even once. He walked into bat at number eight against Delhi Capitals and smashed 37 runs off 16 balls. In the next two games, Dhoni entered the innings late with only a few balls to face, limiting his ability to hit the big sixes he's known for.
But that changed the very next game against MI, which was also his 250th game representing the Super Kings. Despite coming to the crease with just four balls left, the former CSK captain smashed three sixes in the first three balls, leaving even the MI fans in awe.
"Definitely, a young wicket-keeper scoring those three sixes helped us a lot. And at the end, I feel, that’s the difference,” said Gaikwad after the win against MI.
With that innings, he also became the second CSK batter to score 5000 runs for the franchise. Suresh Raina is the other batter to have reached the landmark.