MS Dhoni might play his last IPL in 2023. Over the years, MS has given countless memories to his fans and always dominated the tournament with bat or behind the stumps. Let us have a look at the top 3 knocks by MSD in the IPL.
In 2019 against Rajasthan Royals, when CSK started to struggle, the captain MS Dhoni moved up to number five to stabilize the innings. He had a 61-run stand with Suresh Raina to get his team back on track. Afterwards, he and Dwayne Bravo formed a 56-run partnership to aid Super Kings in dominating the match.
In the final nine deliveries of the CSK inning, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja combined to score 33 runs, flexing their muscles. CSK scored 175 with the captain's contribution of 75* from 46 deliveries. The CSK bowlers seemed inspired by their captain's performance while defending the target and stopped the RR at 167 to record an exciting 8-run victory.
CSK were struggling to chase the target of 160 with quick early wickets by the RCB bowlers and the match prediction was heavily against them. The pressure on CSK increased when Rayudu was out, though, as hitters Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, and Shardul Thakur didn't assist Dhoni from the other end. The veteran made the decision to take matters into his own hands by hitting huge strokes against bowlers after considering how serious the situation was. He challenged Umesh Yadav in the final over with the goal of scoring 26 to assist his team get over the finish line. He brought the game close by hammering four boundaries in his first five deliveries, but Yadav kept his composure and guided the RCB to victory in the final delivery with two runs needed off the final ball. CSK eventually failed to chase the target but won the hearts.
In order to advance to the semifinal round, CSK needed to defeat Punjab Kings (then known as Kings XI Punjab) in their final game at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. CSK had only won six of their previous thirteen games.
CSK invited the Kings to bat first after winning the toss in a game that had to be won. The Kings scored 192 runs with the loss of three wickets thanks to Shaun Marsh's blazing 88 (57) and Irfan Pathan's fast 44 (27) runs. In the first four overs of attempting to chase down that enormous total, the CSK lost the crucial wickets of Murali Vijay and Matthew Hayden. Punjab lost the game as Dhoni stole it thanks to a strong 54* off 29 balls. He showed off his steely nerves in the final over by hitting Irfan Pathan for 16 runs to send his team home.
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