Twitterati hails MS Dhoni's vintage finishing knock

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is considered as one the best finishers of the game, not just by his fans but by most cricket experts all over the world. But eventually, after gaining stature of former Australian legend Michael Bevan’s class, age took a toll on the former Indian skipper. Just when the rumours suggesting MS Dhoni’s retirement was surfacing over the digital platform, the ‘calm as a cucumber’ brain has produced yet another checkmate today (August 24) here at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele.

At a time when Sri Lankan cricket saw nothing but humiliation waiting for them, a spinner named Akila Dananjaya scripted a massive comeback for the wounded lions. But all his efforts went in vain as the World Cup winning skipper, alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, inflicted further wounds on Lanka’s dismantled team. Being asked to bat first by Virat Kohli, the home team could manage only 236 runs.

The target was not big enough and neither the rain played a trick to save the day for the Lankans, as openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan went marching on. But lo! the batters fell like nine pins as from 109/0, the scoreboard read 131/7. A thunderstorm amidst a drought, that’s exactly what the reactions of Lankan players said. The drooping shoulders were on the rise again as India needed something special from Dhoni and Kumar.

They indeed delivered something special, and how? From such a critical stage, the duo formed a hundred-run partnership to seal the deal for the team yet again. Both Bhuvi and Dhoni were calm and composed in their approach, with the latter very much expected to do that. A wonderful cricketing brain, Dhoni paced his innings superbly to keep the scoreboard ticking.

While Kumar on the other end completed his half-century, Dhoni played a vintage MS Dhoni-style finishing knock of 45 runs from 68 deliveries. With 5 runs needed to complete his half-century, fans were hoping to witness the signature finishing shot of the master. But that was not to be as Vishwa Fernando bowled a wide to secure India’s memorable victory.

While this victory will be cherished by the fans and Bhuvi for a long time, those who were questioning Dhoni’s credibility are yet again on the back foot. Twitterati applauded the innings from the legend as they can’t think of their cool-headed icon ever retiring from cricket. While one has to retire at a certain point of time, the topic of Dhoni’s retirement is not expected to pop-up in the press conferences again for the time being.

Here are some top tweets praising Dhoni for his match-winning knock