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Cricket PlayersWatch: Dhoni hits 2 last-over sixes but with 5 needed off 1 ball, Sandeep Sharma denies CSK skipper as RR win nail-biter
MS Dhoni inflicted carnage on Sandeep Sharma before the bowler made a remarkable comeback to steer Royals to a three-run win.
It was yet another dramatic finish in the 2023 Indian Premier League on Wednesday night as Sandeep Sharma held his nerve to steer Rajasthan Royals to a three-run win over Chennai Super Kings. denying a rampaging MS Dhoni a dream finish on his record 200th match as captain of CSK. Given a task to defend 20 runs off the final over, Sandeep was face-to-face with one of the greatest finishers in the history of the game, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It seemed Sandeep was under pressure as he began with two successive wides, but the right-arm bowler made a strong comeback with an immaculate.
Sandeep, however, failed to land the yorker on the next two deliveries as MS Dhoni smashed consecutive sixes – first over deep fine leg and the other towards the deep midwicket – to reignite the CSK hopes. Dhoni took a single off the next ball and his batting partner, Ravindra Jadeja, dug a wide yorker towards cover for another run. With CSK needing five runs off the final ball, Sandeep produced a brilliant yorker yet again and Dhoni could only whip it towards the midwicket for a single.
The Super Kings required 54 runs off the final three overs and while both, Dhoni and Jadeja, decided to rotate strike against Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, they attacked Adam Zampa (14 runs) and Jason Holder (19 runs) before Sandeep Sharma eventually helped RR to a close win in Chennai.
Watch MS Dhoni's two successive sixes in the last over:
Watch the last delivery from Sandeep that ensured RR's win when Dhoni 5 off 1:
Dhoni had remained unbeaten on 32 off 17 deliveries while Jadeja was not out on 25 off 15 balls. This is not the first time when CSK drove the fans in Chennai crazy with his power-hitting this year; in the side's previous game at Chepauk, Dhoni, arriving during the final over of the game, smashed two successive sixes against Mark Wood of the Lucknow Super Giants. CSK had won the game by 12 runs.
Earlier, CSK had won the toss and opted to bowl; Jos Buttler's 52, along with Devdutt Padikkal's 38 and Shimron Hetymer's unbeaten 30 helped the Royals to 175/8.
