Dhoni shows his finishing power

Bengaluru, April 25

Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again showed his prowess was not on the wane as he blazed his way to a 34-ball 70 and powered Chennai Super Kings to a five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.

Opener Ambati Rayudu laid the foundation with a sparkling 82 off 53 balls, hitting eight sixes and three fours. CSK needed 16 runs in the last over and Dhoni struck a six, his seventh of the night, to see his team through after Dwayne Bravo had hit 11 runs off the first three balls.

Batting first, RCB notched up a competitive 205/8 riding on AB de Villiers 30-ball 68 and Quinton de Kock's 53, but CSK chased down the target with two balls to spare.

Dhoni remained not out after adding 101 runs for the fifth wicket with Rayudu. Chennai Super Kings were off to a bad start with Pawan Negi sending back Shane Watson with just eight runs on the board.

A 42-run partnership ensued between Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina before the experienced left-handed batsman fell for 11 in the sixth over. Sam Billings came and went back to the dugout for the addition of just nine runs to the team total, while Ravindra Jadeka was bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal to leave CSK in a spot of bother at 74/4.

However, Rayudu and skipper Dhoni had other ideas as the duo staged a fine recovery before bringing CSK right back into the game. A flurry of sixes flowed from the blades of Rayudu and Dhoni as they constructed their innings keeping the required run rate in mind. — PTI