IPL 2019: MS Dhoni smacks Umesh Yadav for 111 metres six - Watch

Umesh ran up again, this time bowled a length ball, Dhoni was on the backfoot and smoked it, up and over deep mid-wicket, the ball kept flying at cleared the roof.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on strike, Umesh Yadav had the ball, Virat Kohli was manning the boundary ropes. Chennai Super Kings needed 26 runs off the final over and yet, the crowd at Chinnaswamy stadium was not breathing easy.

File image of MS Dhoni (AFP)

Umesh ran up and bowled a back of a length delivery, Dhoni shoveled it away over short square leg and collected a boundary. The crowd was now shuffling restlessly, Umesh ran up again, this time bowled a length ball, Dhoni was on the backfoot and smoked it, up and over deep mid-wicket, the ball kept flying at cleared the roof. Ball tracking revealed that the six was 111 metres long, and this was the longest six this season.

Three sixes and one four later, Dhoni missed the final ball as Parthiv Patel collected the ball and threw down the stumps to find Shardul Thakur short. RCB scraped home by 1 run to keep themselves alive and kicking in the campaign.

“I think more the reason was that Dhoni felt he was best equipped to hit those sixes. The way he calculates the last few overs based on his power, he would have looked at it saying ‘I need four-five sixes to win the game’. As it panned out it was pretty close. He’s so calculative, I would never question the last part of an innings with MS,” coach Stephen Fleming said in the post-match press conference.