VIDEO | MS Dhoni’s match winning six secures highest run chase at Chinnaswamy
BCCI
Call him what you may, but no one in India’s cricketing history has enjoyed the tag of “The Finisher” as aptly as Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The World Cup winning captain replicated another such moment on Wednesday as he broke the Chinnaswamy stadium's highest run chase record with a trademark six.
After a poor start to the run chase, Royal Challengers Bangalore appeared to be in complete control in the first ten overs. However, CSK started turning the heat on in the second half of the game as MS Dhoni came to the crease to partner Ambati Rayudu to chase a target of 205 runs that looked like a mammoth task at that moment.
However, an offensive Virat Kohli had exhausted most of his bowling arsenal in the first 10 overs with the likes of Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal doing the damage in the initial overs. While it would be wrong to say that a potential partnership in the fourth and fifth wicket was not foreseen, but RCB missed a huge chance when Yadav dropped Rayudu’s catch in the 16th over. As a result, not only Rayudu punished him with two consecutive sixes, but also made a crucial 101-run partnership with his skipper.
After Rayudu got out in the 18th over with 30 needed off the last 13 balls, the match was perfectly placed for Dhoni to finish. And Mohammed Siraj’s spell in the 19th over pretty much gifted them the game with just 16 runs remaining in the last over, Dwayne Bravo churned out 11 runs in the first three balls, which included a four and a six before giving it to Dhoni to do the honours.
Dhoni, whose career has now been littered by carcasses of hitting the winning runs, jumped across the off side and hit Corey Anderson’s ball with a full swing to the stands as Chinnaswamy erupted in joy. Not only was this RCB's first loss while defending in excess of 200 at the Chinnaswamy, it was also the highest target ever chased down at RCB's home ground.
