OTD 2018: MS Dhoni plays memorable match-winning knock against RCB at Chinnaswamy

The face of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been a successful player and skipper for the Yellow Brigade since the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The legendary wicketkeeper-batter has played some remarkable match-winning knocks in the tournament, which are recalled by fans. It was the day of April 25 in 2018 when one of the iconic innings was played for the franchise. 

CSK were up against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The visitors had won the toss and elected to field first. RCB had put up a huge total of 205 on the board thanks to a great innings from AB de Villiers (68 off 30 deliveries) and Quinton de Kock (53 off 37 deliveries). Most of the CSK bowlers were struggling with their line and lengths, apart from the likes of Dwayne Bravo (2/33) and Imran Tahir (2/35).

It looked like RCB’s game at the start as the Super Kings were trailing at 74-4 after nine overs with Ambati Rayudu at the crease. However, everything changed as Captain Cool came out to bat and the two formed a fantastic 101-run fifth-wicket partnership to get the Super Kings close to the score. Though Rayudu was dismissed on a score of 82 in the 18th over, that did not stop Dhoni from taking the game deeper. The CSK team needed 16 off the last over, and Dhoni, along with Dwayne Bravo, made sure they chased down the total with two balls to spare and won the game by five wickets.

A classic Mahi innings

This is perhaps one of the most impactful IPL knocks of Dhoni’s career, and he was rightfully awarded the Player of the Match award for his efforts. Dhoni scored his unbeaten 70 runs off just 34 deliveries and came at a time when the team was in deep trouble. Dhoni’s innings might have included just one boundary, but he made up for it with seven maximums in total.

Also Read: What if MS Dhoni played for Mumbai Indians and Rohit Sharma for CSK?

This was also the year when Dhoni went on to lead his team to their third IPL title. Dhoni was among the top run getters for the franchise as well, scoring 455 runs in the 16 matches he played at an average of 75.83 and a strike rate of 150.66.