MS Dhoni shifted momentum in favour of RPS, claims Manoj Tiwary

Although Manoj Tiwary and MS Dhoni stitched together a crucial partnership of 73 runs for the fourth Pune wicket, Tiwary believes that it was Dhoni’s knock that made the difference for his side.

"The momentum shifted during the last two overs. We were struggling to get that until the 18th, 19th and 20th over where Mahi bhai played some outstanding shots. It was not easy against Bumrah, but he showed why he is such a highly-talented player," Tiwary said.

While Tiwary himself scored 58 runs from 48 balls, before being run out, the Bengal batsman felt that Dhoni’s big hitting in the last few overs changed the momentum in the Supergiant's favor.

"He has so much of ability to hit the best bowlers in the IPL. Those sixes in the crucial overs helped us to put up a good total," Tiwary explained.

After Dhoni's heroics with the bat, Washington Sundar's spell of 3/16 propelled Pune to a 20 run win over Mumbai and a spot in the finals of the tournament on Sunday. But Tiwary said that Pune's success is a team effort and cannot be attributed to any one player in particular. Having said that, Tiwary also credited Dhoni for the way the former Pune skipper has ably supported his successor Steve Smith in the tournament, so far.

"He (Smith) is doing a good job, but the kind of results that we are getting it cannot be only credited to only one person. Each and every one has played their part whether it is on the field or off the field by giving suggestions to him as he is not from India. He does not completely know the Indian domestic players and other teams as well, so we share our ideas," he concluded.