MS Dhoni hit a boundary off the last ball to seal the win for Pune. (Source: BCCI/IPL)
MS Dhoni was back to his finishing mode when he smashed a 34-ball 61 in Rising Pune Supergiant’s six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. Chasing the 179-run target, Dhoni accelerated in the death overs to power his side over the finish line. The former India and Pune skipper was adjudged the man of the match for his innings. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhoni revealed Pune’s plan. (Results | Fixtures | Points Table)
“Well it was a difficult one but it was important we take Rashid away from the game, that was his last over. So even if you don’t give him wickets you can strike, it’s not a big ground and one side there was a very strong breeze. So when me and Stokes were batting we thought if one guy can keep hitting with the breeze. That was the plan. It was slightly above average and you can’t always win games like this. I think we did it pretty well,” said Dhoni.
Dhoni was all praise for Manoj Tiwary and said it was important the right-hander didn’t eat up too many deliveries in the final few overs. Coming into bat after the fall of Ben Stokes, Tiwary scored a 8-ball 17 to keep the scoreboard ticking at a brisk pace. He did get a reprieve in the final over but had already done the job for his side.
“Manoj contributed and it was very important because at that point of time you don’t want to lose too many deliveries,” said Dhoni.
The asking rate was exactly 14 in the last four overs but there was no panic from Dhoni in the middle. He asserted that there is no run-rate which is high in modern day cricket and it’s all about putting the opposition bowlers under pressure.
“Frankly in modern day cricket, there is no run-rate which is high. It boils down to how well the opposition bowlers execute their yorkers or length deliveries or what is suitable for the wicket. 7, 8, 9 or 10 doesn’t matter. What really matters is if you can pressure on the opposition bowlers. You can get 60 runs in the last four overs provided the opposition bowlers bowl badly,” said Dhoni.
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