Chennai needed 17 runs in the final over and the former captain produced another miracle with his bat to help CSK secure a crucial victory.
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Chennai Super Kings needed a last-ball finish to secure the win and who better to do it than the man who has done it time and again, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The skipper did not let down the yellow army supporters, as he struck a boundary off the final ball to clinch a thrilling three-wicket win over Mumbai Indians on Thursday night in the Indian Premier League 2022. It was not only about the boundary he struck in the final ball but the way Dhoni ripped apart Jaydev Unadkat in the last over to clinch an unlikely victory would have made CSK fans nostalgic. Chennai needed 17 runs in the final over and the former captain produced another miracle with his bat to help CSK secure a crucial victory.
The victory does little to help Chennai climb in the IPL table, as they remain ninth in the standings with four points from seven matches. On the other hand, it just keeps getting worse for Rohit Sharma’s side, who have lost their seventh match on the bounce. Winless so far in the IPL 2022, Mumbai’s chances of making it into the playoffs already look slim. Meanwhile, CSK needed this victory to gain some kind of confidence in their bid to make it into the top four places. But for a while, a win seemed unlikely until the former Chennai skipper stepped into the middle.
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Earlier, Chennai Super Kings’ skipper Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and decided to bowl first. It seemed to be the right decision at that moment. Mumbai had a poor start, losing two quick wickets as the score read 2-2. Both openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan went for ducks. Soon it became 23/3 and 47/4.
Suryakumar Yadav (32 runs off 21 balls) seemed to have found his rhythm and was all set for a big score. However, his wicket created a massive joy amongst Chennai supporters, while the Mumbai fans and players would have been forgiven for being worried.
But Tilak Varma did well to steady the sinking ship, scoring 51 off 43 balls. Cameos from Hrithik Shokeen and Kieron Pollard in the end helped Mumbai post a challenging total of 155/7. At one point, this score seemed unlikely, but the MI players found a way to post a decent total. For CSK, Mukesh Choudhary picked up 3/19 in three overs.
Chennai did not have the best of starts either. Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad went out for a duck and it soon became 16/2 when Mitchell Santner followed him back to the dressing room. Robin Uthappa (30 off 25) and Ambati Rayudu (40 off 35) did well to keep their team in the run chase.
However, the fall of wickets at regular intervals denied CSK from building any threatening partnerships. It gave hope for Mumbai and at one point the match seemed well beyond Chennai’s grasp. Ravindra Jadeja’s (3 off 8) dismissal meant the yellow army were 106/6 in the 16th over.
However, Dwaine Pretorius (22 off 14) and former skipper MS Dhoni (28 off 13) kept their run chase intact. In the final over, Chennai needed 17 runs but the script did not go according to plan when Pretorius was dismissed in the first ball by Unadkat. New batsman Dwayne Bravo got a single the very next ball, meaning Dhoni needed to hit 16 runs from the final four balls.
Unperturbed by the magnitude of the task at hand, Dhoni started the fightback with a six and four. He then got two runs which allowed him to be on strike for the final ball. With four needed off the last delivery, Dhoni got the ball past short fine leg to send Chennai fans into wild celebrations across the country.
