Twitter Reactions: MS Dhoni takes fans a walk down memory lane to knock SRH out of the park

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is some team! They were knocked out of the tournament last year and it was the first time they hadn’t made it to the playoffs. They learnt from those setbacks and have become the first team this season to officially qualify for the playoffs. And in what style it happened! MS Dhoni smashed a huge six to finally finish a game this season. The 135-run chase had gotten tricky in the end but they got home safely in the final over to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who also got officially knocked out with this loss.

Earlier, it was yet another struggle for SRH batters. Wriddhiman Saha stuck it out in the middle to score 44 off 46 balls but the early wickets of Jason Roy and Kane Williamson that hurt them. Josh Hazlewood and Dwayne Bravo bowled well on the slow Sharjah pitch to churn out wickets. It was Saha who held the innings together until the 13th over when he got out.

At 74/4, Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma, two youngsters, joined hands to add 35 runs in just 24 balls. The duo rotated strike and also hit a couple of lusty blows to give SRH a chance to get to 140. But Hazlewood was having a brilliant game on the day as he snaffled both the batters to end his terrific spell with the figures of 3/24.

Rashid Khan then threw his blade at everything to somehow propel SRH to 134 in their 20 overs. He scored an unbeaten 17 off 13 balls with two fours during his stay in the middle. For CSK, apart from Hazlewood, it was Bravo who bowled exceptionally well to return with 2/17 while Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja also snaffled one.

A walk in the park for CSK

It wasn’t the slowest Sharjah pitch on offer on the day. And the chase of 135 was never going to trouble CSK with their batters in brilliant form. Once again, it was their openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis who continued their good work at the top of the order. They started slowly scoring only 12 runs off the first three overs. But the process of upping the ante was so smooth that CSK crossed the 50-run mark in the usual pace in the 7th over.

Gaikwad was at the heart of bringing the required rate under the control. He played sumptuous strokes and outscored Du Plessis very comfortably. But the latter wasn’t far behind either as he opened his arms soon to churn out easy boundaries. The 75-run association was only broken in the 11th over of the innings when Gaikwad hit one high on the bat off Jason Holder to be caught by Kane Williamson at mid-off.

Nevertheless, he scored 45 runs off 38 balls and was immensely impressive in his approach. Despite the fall of wicket, there was no respite for SRH, as Moeen Ali came and played his shots while Du Plessis continued to bat at similar pace. However, a good couple of overs (14th and 15th) coupled with a wicket of Moeen Ali thanks to Rashid Khan brought the equation down to 30 runs off five overs.

Things got even more interesting when Jason Holder dismissed Suresh Raina and Du Plessis in the same over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then followed up with a classic over filled with variations as the match went down to over. CSK needed 22 runs off the last three overs and another brilliant over from Siddarth Kaul brought it to 16 needed off the final two overs with Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni in the middle.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was given the responsibility to bowl the penultimate over. While he started the over well, Bhuvi missed his length once and Rayudu punished him to slam a huge six. Dhoni then smacked one for four as CSK were left to get only three runs off the last over. And they got home eventually with two balls to spare, which should’ve been a cakewalk at the halfway stage of the chase.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

End with a sixer on this movie's anniversary day 😍 pic.twitter.com/S7E6goMmch

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) September 30, 2021

Too many Chinna scores now, Thala. We expect better than this.

— Manya (@CSKian716) September 30, 2021

Jason Holder in IPL for #SRH from 2020:

3/33(4)
2/27(4)
1/46(4)
2/27(4)
2/25(4)
3/25(4)
1/50(4)
3/30(4)
0/33(3.5)
3/19(4)
3/27(4)

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 30, 2021

Total overhaul is needed for #SRH for the next auction. Fire the coaches also. Build from zero. But the owner remain the same 😊

— idlebrain jeevi (@idlebrainjeevi) September 30, 2021

Leo right now 🦁🥺#SRHvCSK #WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/LOki6qG7eq

— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) September 30, 2021

Ambati Rayudu's contribution for CSK has been somehow underrated.

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 30, 2021

Bhuvi and Shami will have to up their game at the death for India in the World Cup. That ball to Rayudu is proof. Jasprit will need support and from what we have seen so far, both these players need to push the bar.

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 30, 2021

Bhuvi’s form is a concern. There’s a lot of class in him. But current form isn’t giving much confidence ahead of the World Cup. Hope Class will eventually come to the fore… #IPL2021

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 30, 2021

Would have loved for Rayudu to deny Dhoni the strike. Just for memes and revenge. 😂

— Manya (@CSKian716) September 30, 2021

Dhoni finishes the game in style. Thank you MS. Top of the table, 18 points. Cheers.

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) September 30, 2021

Thala finishes off in styleee!!!🔥🥳#WhistlePodu #Yellove #SRHvCSK 💛🦁

— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) September 30, 2021

Chennai Super Kings reach the IPL playoffs / semifinals for the record 11th time (out of 12 editions they have played in).

What a turnaround for a side that stood seventh in the last edition!#CSKvSRH #IPL2021

— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) September 30, 2021

Dhoni and a six to finish. The story isn't over yet…..

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 30, 2021

DHONIIII…🥳
DHONIIII…🥳#WhistlePodu #Yellove #SRHvCSK 💛🦁

— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P😷du Whistle P🥳du! (@ChennaiIPL) September 30, 2021

MS Dhoni's six takes CSK to the playoffs #CSKvSRH

— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) September 30, 2021

Never change, MS. Never change. 😂💛

— Manya (@CSKian716) September 30, 2021

Comeback Super Kings. First team to qualify for the playoffs after missing out on qualification for the first time last season. #CSK #SRHvCSK #IPL2021

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 30, 2021

Vintage #csk and Qualifying to play offs. Good old story!

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 30, 2021

At UAE in 2020 – #CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in #IPL

At UAE in 2021 – #CSK becomes the first team to qualify for the playoffs.

Talk of a terrific comeback – @ChennaiIPL 👏 #SRHvCSK

— Stay Home – Stay Safe – Get Vaccinated 🙏 (@hemangkbadani) September 30, 2021

Dhoni & finishing with a six!😍#MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/5RPTJycR4b

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) September 30, 2021

A six from MS Dhoni to finish the game, we are seen this for almost two decades. The Mahi way. pic.twitter.com/aPpsx5PO98

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 30, 2021