Dhoni magic blasts Pune to victory

The match in a tweet:  MS Dhoni smashes 23 from the final over – including launching the final ball for six – to claim the win and condemn Kings XI to the IPL's wooden spoon

The result: Kings XI Punjab 7-172 lost to Rising Pune Supergiants 6-173 by four wickets with zero balls remaining

The hero:  Never doubt a champion. Cricketers dream of hitting the last ball for six to win matches, but MS Dhoni has made it a habit.  The best finisher in the business smashed an unbeaten fifty and took 23 runs from the left-arm spin of Axar Patel in the final over to deliver his team a morale-boosting season-ending victory. 

Walking into bat with the Supergiants requiring nearly 12 runs an over, Dhoni took the game right to the wire. In the final over he delivered two of the best shots we have seen in the IPL. Requiring 10 to win from the final two balls, Dhoni rocked back to send the second-last ball flying over cover before despatching the final delivery calmly over wide mid-on for a massive six to seal the deal. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 64 from 32 to register his highest score for the season. 

The final over: Needing 23 to win and with Dhoni on strike Kings XI decided to gamble with Patel.  Dhoni took to the task with aplomb. Dhoni refused to give up the strike off the first ball and Patel delivered a wide next delivery. His next delivery sailed over the deep mid-wicket fence. Another single turned down from the third legal delivery. Needing 16, Dhoni duly delivered as only he can – the final wash up: 0wd60466.

The support cast: A little too late from Ravi Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner finally came to the party taking wickets rather than just limiting the run flow.  With the pitch aiding turn, Ashwin decided to flight the ball, imparting dip and spin to deceive the well-set Hashim Amla for 30.  Ashwin returned in the death over’s to knock over Vijay with the quicker ball, undid Gurkeerat with the over-spinner and then trapped David Miller with the slider to end with figures of 4-34.

The Aussie pack: Usman Khawaja looked like he was in for a long-haul racing to 30 from 29 balls but with the asking-rate climbing steeply he perished trying a slog sweep.  Khawaja would be disappointed with his IPL stint, having reached double figures in each of his six outings, the classy left-hander failed to get a big score.  Adam Zampa was below the high standards he had set thus far, picking up only a solitary wicket and conceding 32 runs while George Bailey had another poor outing, scoring just nine.

The consolation effort: Gurkeerat Mann starred with the bat and the ball to give the Kings XI some hope. Mann's dashing 51 from 30 balls at the end of the innings was exactly what the Kings XI needed after the foundation had been laid by sublime fifty by captain, Murali Vijay. Every time the Pune spinners tossed the ball up, Mann jumped out of his crease to hit the ball over the ropes for a boundary.  He would back that up with 2-15 with the ball, including the prize scalps of Khawaja and Saurabh Tiwary in one over.

The Karate Kick: We won’t see Dhoni or Pune in the finals of this IPL, but we might see other keepers try his unique innovation. The India skipper seems to have created a unique way to stop balls behind the stumps of spinners. Every time the batsmen has attempted to play a late cut, Dhoni keeps his hands in the line of the ball but stretches and raises his right leg in an attempt to block the ball being placed between the short third-man and himself.  So far in the IPL, the Pune skipper has managed to stop the ball more than a handful of times.  It might be something other keepers might look at adopting in the future.

The wash-up:  All over for the Supergiants, whose disappointing season ends on a spectacular note.  Injuries curtailed there season but in the meantime they need to find some match winners with the ball if there are to be successful next year.

The Kings XI finished with the dreaded wooden-spoon again. It has been disappointing season for batting starts such as Maxwell and Miller which has lead to abysmal performances. The pace bowling has been admirable but looking ahead to next season they need a quality spinner and find a superstar in the top-order.