IPL-2022: Dhoni Finishes Off Mumbai As The Two Bottom Ranked Champions Produce A Thriller!

It was a rare moment. It was vintage Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the firebrand yet cool former India captain, in his long-forgotten role as the Finisher. The match between the bottom ranked Champions, the defending Champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the five-time Champions Mumbai Indians (MI), played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on 21^st April went down the wire with CSK needing a four in the last ball to win. And MSD was at the crease. In that momentous last over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat and CSK needing 17 runs to win, the first ball gets the blast-away Dwaine Pretorius (22 off 14) out LBW; Dwaine Bravo comes in and takes a single to let Dhoni take over; 16 runs to get now in 4 balls; Dhoni hits the third ball to a towering six; next ball a four; the fifth ball Dhoni hits the ball and scampers desperately back for the second run to be able to face the last ball, a feat that he missed in the historic semi-final against New Zealand in the ICC World Cup-2019; now a 4 needed in the last ball in an epic situation; and Dhoni (28 not out in 13 balls) gets it in style leading CSK to win by 3 wickets. The Finisher stages a rare comeback to the ecstasy of his fans and the fans of CSK. MI captain Rohit Sharma and the last-over bowler Unadkat look devastated as their team crashes to its 7^th consecutive defeat, almost eliminating them from IPL-2022.

 

Both the bottom-ranked teams were justifiably desperate to win, MI needing their first win and CSK wanting its second in 7 games each, and as a result the match had been intensely fought all throughout with crisis situations thrown in for both. CSK wins the toss and as usual puts MI into bat. CSK rookie pacer Mukesh Chaudhary in a fierce burst as the first new-ball bowler mops up the top three MI wickets: Rohit Sharma for a duck and Ishan Kishan for 1 in the very first over of the innings, and then capturing Dewald Brevis for 4 in his second over, finishing the Player of the Match figure of 3-19.

 

Mumbai could never really recover from those early blows. It was thanks mainly to Tilak Varma (51 not out in 43) and the ever-needed Suryakumar Yadav (32 in 21) that MI crawled to a somewhat respectable total of 155/7. Pollard failed again with the bat and was never bowled a single over in the match. Among the other bowlers Mithchell Santner was good, but others including prominently captain Jadeja failed to impress.

 

Desperation acted as some kind of stimulator for Mumbai as they acted like tigers hungry for prey on the field and put CSK in dire straits. Daniel Sams in a burst like Mukesh earlier getting four scalps, the two by Unadkat and one severe blow by Meredith separating CSK captain Ravinda Jadeja from Dhoni which could’ve been an ominous partnership reduced CSK to 106 for 6 wickets. With 50 runs needed in four overs Mumbai seemed to have the match in their pocket and again with 35 needed in the last two overs. However, Pretorius became the first predator for MI and the rest was history as MS Dhoni re-established his role as the Finisher. And unfortunately again, main strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah failed to get wickets still.

 

MI and CSK continue to give company to each other at the bottom positions—CSK with 4 points now in the 9^th position and MI with no win in the 10^th spot. In the meantime, RCB has been doing very well amassing 5 wins out of 7 to rise to the second position with 10 points while GT retains the top spot with 10 points due to their better run-rate. RR also rises to the third position with 8 points in 6 games while LSG slides to the fourth, also with 8 points, but in 7 games. Resurgent SRH rises to the 5^th position with 8 points in 6 games. DC had thrashed Punjab to make amends to their poor stats and is now occupying the 6^thposition. KKR has been fighting very bravely, but losing matches recently and sliding to the 7^th position with 6 points in 7 games. PBKS is in the 8^th position, but also with 6 points in 7 games.

 

With 7 games each left for 7 teams and 8 for the 3 teams a see-saw battle for the top four spots is still very much on the anvil. Unfortunately, it seems almost over for MI unless they win all their remaining 7 games only to remain in contention. It’d be interesting too to watch what CSK does next with that huge morale-booster delivered by MS Dhoni.