MS Dhoni’s cameo helped CSK register their second win of IPL 2022 [P/C: iplt20.com]
Aakash Chopra has lauded MS Dhoni for showing another demonstration of his calm and collected approach to a run chase in last night’s IPL 2022 encounter between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Dhoni scored an unbeaten 28 off 13 deliveries to help CSK get the better of MI. He smoked 16 runs off the last four balls of the match to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
While reliving the final four balls in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was awestruck by MS Dhoni’s calmness under pressure. He explained:
“You needed 16 runs off four balls. MS Dhoni first hits a six – goes deep in the crease, the yorker was missed and he dismissed it straight down the ground. He hits a four off the next ball, he was ready for the short ball. Then he tries to hit a yorker, the ball goes to deep mid-wicket and he takes two runs. Last ball four runs – to hit a four with a sweep, what is this guy? This guy is ice cool. There was so much pressure but it does not matter to him.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Dhoni showed that he has not lost any of his finishing prowess. Chopra observed:
He (Dhoni) was hitting yesterday, is hitting today and will hit tomorrow as well. He won almost a lost encounter. He showed the lion has just become old but has not forgotten how to hunt. Our guy is class.
Dhoni walked out to bat when CSK needed 54 runs off 31 deliveries with five wickets in hand. He lost Ravindra Jadeja’s company soon thereafter but held his nerve to take the defending champions across the finish line.
“Everything is on one side and MS Dhoni’s knock is on the other side” – Aakash Chopra
MS Dhoni hit three fours and a six during his knock [P/C: iplt20.com]
While acknowledging that there were plenty of star performers in the match, Aakash Chopra picked MS Dhoni’s knock as the game-defining effort. He elaborated:
“We can talk about a lot of people in this match. We can talk about Mukesh Choudhary because he bowled very well, there is no doubt. He picked up three wickets at the start, broke the opposition team’s back but still 150 runs were scored. We can talk about Daniel Sams, Tilak Varma or Ambati Rayudu, don’t forget Dwaine Pretorius’ contribution as well but everything is on one side and MS Dhoni’s knock is on the other side.”
The 44-year-old concluded by labeling Dhoni as the greatest finisher of all time. Chopra said:
“16 runs in four balls are not scored, they are not scored nine out of 10 times and they are scored when Dhoni comes. He turned the pages of history, he has rewound the clock and how. Dhoni is and will be forever the ultimate finisher.”
While Dhoni closed out the match in breathtaking fashion, Dwaine Pretorius’ support act deserved almost equal plaudits. The two boundaries hit by the South African all-rounder in the penultimate over bowled by Jasprit Bumrah kept CSK in the game going into the final over.
