MS Dhoni blasted two sixes in the last two balls and gave his new side Rising Pune Supergiant a sensational win against Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2016 to avoid the wooden spoon.
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In cricketing history, a last-ball six is the ultimate dagger in the career of a bowler. Just ask Chetan Sharma. He conceded a last-ball six to Javed Miandad in the 1986 tournament in Sharjah. THAT six changed entire India vs Pakistan equation. After that six, it was Pakistan who held the edge in the rivalry. In the modern era, Michael Bevan and MS Dhoni proved to be the ultimate finishers in limited-overs cricket.
While Bevan was the calm batter who took the team over with accuracy and precision, MS Dhoni was calculating with the addition of brute power. His stylish finishes in the 2011 World Cup, multiple ODIs, T20Is, and IPL matches with a last-ball six made him one of the greatest. His last Houdini act was in 2013 against Sri Lanka in Trinidad in which he hit 15 runs in the final over to give India an unlikely win.
But, in one IPL match in 2016, MS Dhoni undid MS Dhoni for the sheer audacity with which he finished the game. One may have witnessed Javed Miandad and many others hit a last-ball six. But, what if one had to do a double Javed Miandad, meaning two sixes off the last two balls? That is the unbelievable feat that MS Dhoni achieved in the IPL 2016 contest against Kings XI Punjab in Vizag.
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The IPL 2016 tournament was bittersweet for MS Dhoni. Chennai Super Kings were banned for two years and Dhoni was at the helm of Rising Pune Supergiant, a new franchisee that came up along with Gujarat Lions. After winning their opening game against Mumbai Indians, Rising Pune Supergiant struggled and could not get consistency. Towards the end of the league stages, Rising Pune Supergiant was fighting to avoid the wooden spoon. Their opponents, Kings XI Punjab, also endured a horrible time. They too were fighting to avoid the wooden spoon.
Kings XI Punjab chose to bat and they were aided by fifties from Murali Vijay and Gurkeerat Singh Mann. Vijay hit 59 and Gurkeerat smashed 51 as Kings XI Punjab ended on 172/7. Ravichandran Ashwin took 4/34. Chasing 173, Rising Pune Supergiant was in big trouble at 86/5. MS Dhoni and Thisara Perera shared a stand of 58, with Perera smashing a couple of lusty blows. But, when he fell for 23, Rising Pune Supergiant needed 29 off 11 balls. Mohit Sharma conceded just six runs from the remaining five deliveries and Rising Pune Supergiant needed 23 off six balls. Axar Patel was going to bowl the final over. MS Dhoni was on strike.
After bowling a dot first ball, Axar Patel tried the bouncer but it was well outside leg stump. A wide was called and Rising Pune Supergiant needed 22 off 5 balls. The second ball was a length delivery on the stumps. Dhoni swung hard and blasted it to the deep midwicket stand for a huge six. 16 runs were needed off four balls. The third ball was hammered to deep cover but Hashim Amla put in a diving stop to save the boundary. Incredibly, MS Dhoni did not run and many thought that was a wasted opportunity. RPS needed 16 off 3 balls.
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The fourth ball was hammered flat by MS Dhoni to deep extra cover but it landed just in front of the ropes. Now, RPS needed 12 runs off 2 balls. Dhoni had to bring out his absolute A+ game to do the double Javed Miandad.
The fifth ball was launched over deep square leg for another six. The incredible was now been played out. Six runs were needed off one ball. A dog stopped play. Incredibly, the dog would halt play in a comical way six months later when England played a Test at Vizag.
Axar Patel switched to over the wicket and darted a quick ball on the pads of Dhoni. He missed the length. Dhoni unleashed the helicopter shot and whipped it over wide long-on for an incredible six. In the annals of cricket history, this was the zenith in calmness and aggression. Dhoni had achieved the impossible. Finishing in cricket was now elevated to a whole new level. After the match, he did rue the fact that RPS was not in the knockouts. “t was a fantastic game. If we were alive, this is the kind of game you wanted to win to get into the knockouts.”
RPS did not reach the playoffs. But, MS Dhoni showed the world that he was the ultimate legend in finishing games off.
