MS Dhoni plays a shot en route to his match-winning knock against Mumbai Indians.
Thanos, arguably the greatest modern-day antagonist, kept saying the entire Endgame, that he was indeed inevitable. But you see, superheroes tend to turn down the inevitable. But it isn't easy. The Iron Man had to give his life up for that.
But for a certain man behind the stumps, and with the bat in hand, turning down the inevitable is what he has been doing his whole career.
If Iron Man is a superhero, that man behind the stumps is Thalaiva, and believe me, he is no less. Chennai Super Kings' MS Dhoni once again proved why he is, was, and will forever be the greatest finisher the game of cricket has ever seen.
It wasn't just Dhoni who faced Unadkat in the last over against Mumbai Indians on Thursday. 21 April. It was his reputation that came along with him. To put it in simple words, it was vintage Mahendra Singh Dhoni on display in Mumbai.
Dhoni came at the crease when CSK needed 53 off 30 deliveries. From there on, till the penultimate over finished, MSD faced nine deliveries and made 12 runs. Pretorius, who played an able hand in the chase, was on 22 off 13.
Unadkat came on to ball the last over. First ball of the over, and Pretorius was back in the hut. Dwayne Bravo came on to bat and took a single to give the strike back to the former CSK captain.
16 runs, four deliveries, and Dhoni on strike. Well, it cannot get bigger & better than that. Unadkat came running in but erred in his length.
Cricket is a game of margins. Slightest of margins. And when MSD is batting, those margins tend to get even little. Unadkat served the ball in the slot for Dhoni, and he launched it straight over his head for a six.
He tried the bouncer next ball. Something the entire cricketing world had picked up after Kagiso Rabada's infamous over to Dhoni in Dharamshala. But again, the line wasn't right and Dhoni went on his backfoot, unleashed a ferocious pull and the ball raced away to the fine leg boundary.
The next ball Dhoni exhibited his running skills and collected a couple as it all came down to 4 required off the last ball. To be fair to Unadkat, a low full toss on the middle stump isn't a bad delivery, but Dhoni was just too good.
Four runs were required, and a boundary was what Chennai's Thala delivered. And yes, the delivery came with a note - The finisher ain't finished yet.
