Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the man who pushed Indian cricket beyond limits and brought glory to the nation, is again making headlines cracking back to back half-centuries in Indian Premier League. Dhoni is once again busy proving that age is just another number.
'Sir Ravindra Jadeja' was spot on when he tweeted “those weren't sixes. Those were tight slaps right on the face of MS Dhoni haters who keep asking him to retire after every match” (sic) after Dhoni's innings in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Delhi Daredevils (Delhi) match.
MSD stole the limelight from his teammate Shane Watson, who slammed a 40-ball 78, by scoring an unbeaten 51 off 22. It was also Dhoni's second fastest fifty in the IPL.
In the match, Watson and Dhoni gave a class in power hitting while helping CSK to 211 for 4 after put to bat by Delhi. Dhoni showed his most dreaded 'finisher touch' in the last five overs, which produced 74 runs!
Dhoni, who came after Watson's dismissal, joined Rayudu in the 14th over. The skipper got into the act with successive sixes off Trent Boult, one over mid-wicket and other one from a bottom-handed jab over long on. The third one was a whip off Avesh Khan over square leg, which almost went out of the park. He ended up with five 6s and two 4s. Dhoni's sprint between the stumps for quick singles and doubles were also a treat to watch and warning to those criticizing him.
Rayudu too made sure the big hits kept coming as he hit five 4s and a 6 in his entertaining cameo. His fourth wicket stand of 79 with Dhoni came off just 36 balls. This was Dhoni's third half-century of IPL-11.
Delhi's chase was ended at 198 for 5 as they exhausted the balls. With a six wins in eight games, CSK further consolidated their position at the top of the points table.
As Dhoni and Co. demolished Delhi's IPL dreams, the twitterati went crazy about their performances:
(With inputs from PTI)