Wednesday at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 was more than just a last-over thriller. At the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday.
It was more than just a last-over thriller—it was MS Dhoni turning back time in his 200th match as captain of Chennai Super Kings.
It was MS Dhoni returning to the past in his 200th coordinate as Chennai Super Lords skipper with his group requiring him to move forward.
Dhoni batted in the 16th over against Rajasthan Royals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, chasing 176 with CSK on 113/6.
On account of some awesome hitting by Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni, CSK came to 155/6 out of 19 overs.
They required 21 off the last finished. In the final over, veteran Sandeep Sharma received the ball from RR captain Sanju Samson.
The equation came down to 19 off six balls after the medium pacer gave up two wides in the first two balls. After that, Sandeep struck Dhoni with a dot ball.
After that, the classic Dhoni came back, hitting two huge sixes for the CSK skipper to get to seven off three balls.
Following Dhoni’s single off the fourth delivery, Jadeja picked up another single. CSK needed a six from their captain to win, and Dhoni was back on strike.
However, Sandeep bowled a yorker outside off, and Dhoni could only take a single. CSK fell three runs short.
While Rajasthan Royals posted a respectable 175 for 8 when Jos Buttler batted first, his approach wasn’t exactly devastating, but he still managed to score the 18th half-century of his IPL career.
The Royals were 135 for 4 after 15 overs, but the final five were less successful than expected, adding only 40 runs and losing four wickets.
On a surface that helped the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja (2/21 of every 4 overs) was all the while threatening, even as Buttler hit three colossal sixes in his 36-ball-52.
He and Devdutt Padikkal, who had battled against Punjab Lords yet had returned to his best after his battles, shared a decent 77-run organization for the subsequent wicket (38 runs off 26 balls).
In the final over, Shimron Hetmyer scored 30 runs off 18 balls, while Tushar Deshpande (2/37) only scored eight runs in the 20th.