This Day, That Year: When MS Dhoni’s Fighting Knock Guided Chennai Super Kings to Victory in a Last-Over Thriller Against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019
In this article, we'll revisit the epic match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Momentum of the game shifted like a roller coaster throughout the match. However, it was the Dhoni-led side which emerged victorious at last but in the last ball of the match.
The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) might be under clouds amid the COVID-19 lockdown. However, in the meantime, we can look back at some of the nail-biting matches which were played in the previous editions of the gala T20 tournament. Here in this article, we'll revisit the epic match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). Momentum of the game shifted like a roller coaster throughout the match. However, it was the Dhoni-led side which emerged victorious at last but in the last ball of the match. MS Dhoni No Longer Good at PUBG as He Has Shifted to Call of Duty, Says CSK Pacer Deepak Chahar.
After winning the toss at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Dhoni won the toss and invited the home side to bat first. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (14) and Jos Buttler (23) score some quick runs early in the innings. However, CSK bowlers bounced back brilliantly and got scalped wickets in a cluster. Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur took wickets apiece while Mitchell Santer got one wicket.
Ben Stokes (28) scored some handy runs in the end overs and guided the Men in Pink to 151/7 in the first innings. In reply, CSK got off to the worse possible start as Shane Watson (0), Faf du Plessis (7) and Suresh Raina (4) were back in the hut inside four overs. However, Ambati Rayudu joint forces with skipper MS Dhoni and brought his side back in the contest. Both the players also scored their respective half-centuries and target looked within reach. However, the game twisted again as Stokes dismissed Rayudu for 57.
The equation came down to 18 runs from the last over with Dhoni and Jadeja being on the crease while Stokes had the ball in hand. To intensify the battle, Jadeja smashed the first ball for six and bowled the no-ball in the second delivery. However, he redeemed himself by uprooting Dhoni’s stumps in the third ball.
Drama continued the fourth ball too as Stokes bowled a high-waist full-toss and the two on-field umpires were in bit confusion whether it was a no-ball or not. Adding fuel to the show, Dhoni himself stepped onto the field in order to talk about the matter. However, the delivery remained a legal ball. At last, CSK needed three runs of the last ball and Mitchell Santer was on strike. The southpaw smashed Stokes for a straight six and guided his side to a memorable triumph. Dhoni was adjudged the Man of the Match due to his match-winning knock.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2020 01:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).