Midas touch

Dubai, October 10

Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned the clock back with 18 off six balls as Chennai Super Kings reached the final of IPL-14 with a thrilling last-over win over Delhi Capitals in Qualifier-1 here on Sunday night. Set a challenging 173-run target, CSK reached home with two balls to spare — for their ninth IPL final — as Dhoni struck an unbeaten 18 off six balls with three fours and one six.

My innings was a crucial one. I’ve not done a lot in the tournament, so wanted to look for the ball and see what the bowler can do. I was batting well in the nets — Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK Captain

Obviously it is very disappointing. The score was decent, and they got off to a flier. That was the main difference. We are going to rectify our mistakes, learn from it and hopefully, we can move on and play the final — Rishabh Pant, DC Captain

With 13 runs needed in the final over, Moeen Ali (16 off 12 balls) fell on the first ball, caught by Kagiso Rabada off Tom Curran as he went for a big shot. Dhoni, who has had a poor season so far, slammed the second ball over extra cover for four and edged the third past his stumps and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant for another four. Curran then bowled a wide far from off stump, and CSK now needed four off three — and Dhoni did the job with a strong pull to the deep square leg boundary.

Dhoni had come to the middle in the 19th over and when he was beaten by a slower ball from Avesh Khan, it seemed unlikely that he would play a significant role in the game. Yet he smashed the second ball he faced for six over deep midwicket — before being beaten by another slower ball. However, when he got to face the bowling again, in the final over, he proved equal to the challenge.

CSK’s chase had been powered by yet another half-century from Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 70 (50 balls) and his partnership of 110 off 12.5 overs with Robin Uthappa (63 off 44) put CSK on top. However, CSK slumped from 113/1 to 119/4 as Curran took out Uthappa and Shardul Thakur, while Gaikwad was removed by Anrich Nortje. It seemed it was all over for CSK, but the 40-year-old Dhoni had other ideas.

Shaw, Hetmyer, Pant shine

Earlier, Prithvi Shaw struck 60 off 34 balls to give DC a flying start before Shimron Hetmyer (37 off 24) and Rishabh Pant (51 not out off 35) carried the team to 172/5.

Despite Shaw’s fireworks, Delhi were in some trouble at 80/4 in 10.2 overs before Hetmyer and Pant staged an excellent recovery, helping the team reach a huge total.

Brief scores: DC: 172/5 (Shaw 60, Pant 51*; Hazlewood 2/29); CSK: 173/6 in 19.4 overs (Gaikwad 70, Uthappa 63; Curran 3/29).