Mahendra Singh Dhoni roared back to form with a stunning knock of 61 off just 34 balls to lead Rising Pune Supergiant to an emphatic six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday in Pune.
Chasing 176, Rising Pune Supergiant were off to a poor start with Ajinkya Rahane departing after scoring just a couple of runs. A 72-run partnership between Rahul Tripathi and Steve Smith then steadied the ship.
Tripathi was the more aggressive of the two and raced to his fifty in only 32 balls. The partnership came to an end when Smith was undone by a Rashid Khan googly. 11 runs later, Tripathi also joined Smith in the hut when a poor decision to steal a single resulted in his run out.
Ben Stokes could not do much with the bat and was dismissed for only 10, allowing Manoj Tiwary to join Dhoni in the middle with still 55 runs needed in the final 23 balls.
The duo collected 17 runs in the 18th over to bring the equation down to 30 from the last two overs. In the next over which was bowled by the in-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the match tilted in Pune’s favour when Dhoni hit the first three balls for two fours and a six, as the batting team collected 19 runs from the penultimate over.
With 11 needed from the final one, Tiwary hit the first ball for a four before taking a single to allow Dhoni to take the strike. The batting team collected four runs from the next three balls before Dhoni finished the match with a boundary.
Earlier, the defending champions rode on a whirlwind knock from Moises Henriques to post a challenging 176 for three. The Sunrisers openers- Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner made a steady start but were finding it tough to score at a brisk rate.
They added 55 runs in 49 balls before Dhawan was dismissed by Imran Tahir. Warner’s men could score only 65 runs in the first ten overs but Kane Williamson (21 off 14), Henriques (55 off 28) and Deepak Hooda played quickfire knocks in the second-half of the innings to help their team score 111 runs in the final 10 overs.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Might not do it as consistently now, but when he does, you're reminded of why there isn't and can't be another M.S.Dhoni #RPSvSRH #TheBoss
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) April 22, 2017
Dhoni won the match with a boundary instead of a six, that's what demonetization has done to big players. #RPSvSRH
— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 ? (@RoflGandhi_) April 22, 2017
MS Dhoni is a beast! So calm under pressure…wow!
— Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) April 22, 2017
Dhoni haters be like..??#RPSvSRH pic.twitter.com/aC6NgE6wvb
— भकुआईल पांडा??? (@ceeeed07) April 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/sagarcasm/status/855783923032485892
https://twitter.com/Sarcasticdudee/status/855774182059122689
DHONI: THE HEART ATTACK EXPERT.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) April 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/Karan4999/status/855781738844487680
Must confess I like the look of Mohd Siraj. Generates pace of an easy action.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2017
Dhoni hits a boundary withinin first 10 deliveries he has faced. #RPSvSRH pic.twitter.com/Jyy8bMgsBc
— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 ? (@RoflGandhi_) April 22, 2017
MS Dhoni is finally back where he belongs!?#theboss#RPSvSRH #IPL
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 22, 2017
6 overs and SRH have made just 45. That's a massive plus for @RPSupergiants on that ground.#IPL2017 #RPSvSRH
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) April 22, 2017
Expectation vs real performance. #RPSvSRH pic.twitter.com/i5pFb4cqRn
— urban desi (@_urbandesi) April 22, 2017