Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni enthralled his fans with the biggest six of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. In the last over, when CSK needed 17 runs to qualify for IPL 2024 playoffs, Dhoni shunned RCB fans into silence with a mammoth six. Yash Dayal attempted a yorker but it ended up being a low full-toss on leg-stump. Dhoni flashed his blade and the ball went over the roof at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
While it made the equation easier for CSK, it also helped RCB. Skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli had been asking for a ball change for a while. The wet conditions had made it hard for bowlers to grip the ball which led to a few no balls as well. Lockie Ferguson was on the verge of getting banned from bowling in the penultimate over for bowling his second above-waist height no ball but the on-field umpires decided that it wasn’t intentional or dangerous to the batter.
After the ball change, Dayal backed his strength and bowled a back of the hand slower ball on the stumps to Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batter once again flashed his bat but managed a top-edge. The ball went high up in the air but CSK's designated finisher could not go the distance. He was caught by Swapnil Singh on the boundary. The 42-year-old’s season ended in anguish as CSK now needed 11 runs from the last four balls.
Shardul Thakur came out to bat next. Dayal bowled another back of the hand slower ball but this time a lot shorter. Thakur failed to get bat on it and no run was scored. Dayal did not give Thakur any pace on the ball and he edged it to short third man. After taking a single, he got Ravindra Jadeja on strike. CSK needed 10 runs off the last two balls. Jadeja had done it before but he failed to do so against Dayal who continued to bowl short balls and kept CSK at bay.
RCB managed to book their playoff spot and will face either Rajasthan Royals (RR) or Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the eliminator clash on May 22.
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