April 23, 2017 by admin

MSD back as chasemaster

Pune, Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 61 to reassert his finisher tag as he guided Rising Pune Supergiant to a six-wicket victory over defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling IPL match.
After a series of flop shows, the former India captain smashed a flurry of fours and sixes as Pune overhauled the target of 177 on the last ball of their innings.
Dhoni hit a boundary off the last ball of the 20th over by Siddharth Kaul when only two runs were needed to win the match. Pune reached 179/4 to the wild celebrations of the home supporters at the MCA Stadium.
Dhoni faced 34 deliveries for his unbeaten 61 that included five fours and three sixes. Opener Rahul Tripathi kept Pune in the hunt with a 41-ball 59 before he was out in the 14th over. Captain Steve Smith contributed with a 21-ball 27 but he got out early in the 11th over.
With Pune 87/2, Dhoni came out at No. 4 after the fall of Smith’s wicket as Pune needed 10 runs an over to win the match. However, the situation worsened after Tripathi and Ben Stokes (10) departed quickly, leaving the asking rate to shoot above 14 an over. Dhoni hit two fours and a six to take 17 runs from the 18th over.