NEW DELHI: MS Dhoni’s match-winning 70 not out off 34 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore has left Viv Richards in awe of his batting capabilities once again. Dhoni smashed the ball into the stands seven times, including the hit that sealed the winning runs as Chennai Super Kings chased down RCB’s 205/8.
Writing in today’s Times of India, the swashbuckling West Indian legend marvelled at what he saw.
“Dhoni was back to his best with the bat again, carrying the entire hope of his team and the fans on his shoulder in the final overs of the game. He and Ambati (Rayudu) played brilliantly to set the tone for the chase, which would have even inspired DJ (Bravo) to have the belief when he walked in. The Chennai skipper, unlike his Mohali entry, started instantly in Bangalore, which was a sign that he is still the player to watch out for, despite the criticisms he has recently received,” wrote Richards. “The man, as always, kept his cool to push his team over the line in a thrilling game which always has been the case when these two sides have met in the past.”
CSK and RCB hit a record 33 sixes in total in a thrilling IPL clash on Wednesday night the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in which an epic run chase from CSK saw the visitors home after AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock began in a blaze of boundaries.
“What a brilliant game of cricket we had at Bangalore on Wednesday. I was seriously expecting an explosive game when the two best teams in the IPL faced each other. Chennai under the captaincy of Dhoni against the Bangalore boys of Virat Kohli, would be one of the fiercest battles you will find in cricket at this time,” wrote Richards.
“Interestingly, the home team pulled the momentum to their side even further dismissing Chennai’s explosive top order batting within nine overs into the second innings. Yuzvendra Chahal and Umesh Yadav were accurate enough to cut down the run-flow and pick wickets simultaneously making it even harder for the chasing team to catch up with the required rate. But credit to Chennai for not succumbing to the pressure and holding the nerves,” he wrote.