Dhoni masterlcass silences critics

MS Dhoni has silenced his critics with the perfect response and proved why he's one of Indian cricket's greatest with a superb match-winning knock in the IPL.

In five previous innings Dhoni had hit just 61 runs in this tournament, had seemingly run afoul of the club owners who stripped him of the captaincy for this season, and endured criticism from former India internationals that he was not a good T20 player.

In Pune tonight, Dhoni blasted 57 from 33 balls, and hit a boundary on the final ball of the match, to hand the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise a memorable victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

But it wasn't just the runs, but the manner of them, shouldering responsibility and lifting his team from a seemingly lost cause to victory that will have silence the doubters.

Pune still needed 79 from 42 balls when Dhoni was involved in the run out of opener Rahul Tripathi, who had blasted his way to 59 from 41 balls.

And with Ben Stokes falling cheaply soon after, the home side's hopes rested with the wicketkeeper known for his ice-cool finishing. He was 21 from 19 balls, and Pune still needed 56 from the final 23 deliveries.

Time for Dhoni to shine. The 18th over is carted for 17 runs – including cleverly taking a single from the final ball.

Pune need 30 more and this season's most in-form bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has the ball. The 19th over disappears for 19 runs as Dhoni goes 4-4-6 to bring up his half-century.

It is his 19th T20 half-century, but only one of those fifties has come playing for India. It prompted former India captain Sourav Ganguly to join in the criticism of the 35-year-old.

"I am not too sure if Dhoni is a good T20 player," Ganguly told India Today last week.

"He is a champion ODI player but when it comes to T20 cricket, in 10 years, he has got one fifty and that's not the best record."

Dhoni has more than his share of supporters still but a negative sentiment about his future was swirling.

Australian spin bowling legend Shane Warne was aghast enough to wade in via social media.

Warne and Dhoni never faced off in international cricket but the Australian was strong in his view that the 'keeper-batsman, who led India in a record 60 Tests as well as to the 2011 World Cup title, remained "a wonderful player in all formats".

"Dhoni does not have to prove anything to anyone," Warne tweeted. "He's class and a wonderful player in all formats.  "MS is also a great captain and inspires!"

Off strike to start the final over, Pune still needed four from the final two balls when he got to face up. A hard-run two from a ball whipped to leg, and from the final ball a smash through extra cover to the fence to secure the win.

He finishes unbeaten on 61, from 34 balls. An impressive 36 of those runs came from his final 12 balls.

There is no run-rate that is too high," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

"It boils down to how well the opposition bowlers execute. So seven, eight, nine, ten … it doesn't matter. What matters is keeping your calmness.

"You can't always win games like this."

But if you're MS Dhoni, you often do.