MS Dhoni on Thursday (April 21) once again showed why he is rated as one of the greatest finishers of all time.
Chasing 156 to win in an IPL 2022 clash against MI, CSK needed 17 off the last over and Dhoni turned back the clock to seal the deal for his side on the final delivery while facing Jaydev Unadkat.
Speaking after the game, CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja praised his predecessor, saying it’s very pleasing to see that Dhoni is still hungry.
"It's very good that he is still hungry (for runs and wins)," Jadeja said at the virtual post-match press conference after CSK’s three-wicket win over MI.
"His touch is still there. And looking at it, all of us remain calm, that if he is in the middle and stays till the final over, he will win the game," he added.
"We were tense but had a belief that he (Dhoni) was out there, he would finish the game and come. He has won so many games for India, in the IPL, we knew that he would finish the game."
Dhoni, who remained unbeaten on 28 off 13 balls, batted like his peak days. He was off strike on the first two deliveries and then smashed Unadkat for a six, four, a couple and another boundary to take CSK over the line.
"Look we were in pressure and the way the match was going, I believe there was pressure in both the dugouts... As the world's best finisher (Dhoni) was out in the middle.
"Somewhere we knew that if he (Dhoni) stays till the last ball, then definitely he would win the game for us. We had the belief that he wouldn't miss the final two-three balls and luckily that happened," Jadeja said.
For his stunning spell (3 for 19 in three overs) with the new ball, Mukesh Choudhary earned the Player-of-the-Match award.
Praising the left-arm pacer, the CSK captain said: "Yes, when he (Choudhary) was a net bowler with us, we had seen that he bowled well in the nets and swung the ball. His skill to swing the new ball is very good and so we backed him."
"He didn't perform well in the last one or two games, but despite that we backed him, as we knew that he would take wickets. And luckily he bowled well, tried to swing, which helped him in getting wickets," Jadeja concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
