IPL 2017 Qualifier 1, MI vs RPS: Supergiants wins by 20 runs to enter the finals
IPL 2017 is just about to end and before that, it wants to give us some of the most unexpected yet thrilling clashes that we are going to cherish for all our lives. This was what the qualifier between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians.
Wankhede was where this mini finale was scheduled and as expected MI had all the support needed from the crowd, however, there was one player from RPS dugout for whom they cheered their hearts out. But we’ll get back to that later.
The home team won the toss and opted to bowl first. Ajinkya Rahane gave a steady start to his team while scoring 56 runs off 43 balls and Manoj Tiwary, who came in at No. 4 also registered a half century, during his 80-runs partnership with Rahane.
However, there are runs on the scoreboard and then there are runs that decide the outcome of any game. The latter are made in the death overs and for being on the striker’s end to score those runs, to just have to have ‘it’. Nobody can teach you that.
It was the marvelous comeback of MS Dhoni – The Finisher that gave RPS a chance to enter IPL 2017 finals, against all odds. The brute force that MS Dhoni brings with him, every time he comes to bat, found the delivery right at the center of his handle and the Kookaburra was sent bind the boundaries in a way that only MSD can send it.
It doesn’t matter, in which corner of India the former Captain plays, the chants of ‘Dhoni Dhoni’ are inevitable when he is in the house. The came to the crease when RPS lost two of its best and most consistent batsmen, Rahul Tripathi and Steven Smith, who unwantedly set a stage for Dhoni’s comeback with runs.
MS Dhoni sent the balls five times behind the boundary line and they all went for huge sixes during his unbeaten 40 runs off 26 balls stand.
Watch MS Dhoni dealing in sixes here
The one that went straight to RPS’ dugout and the bullet that was shot in the final over were our personal favorites. By the end of those 20 overs, 163 runs were the target for Mumbai Indians and in a match where every single stand counts, only Parthiv Patel was able to send chills down the spine of Pune’s bowlers as the rest of the team tumbled at just 142 runs.
It was the heroics of Washington Sundar with the ball, who conceded just 16 runs during his 4-overs spell and claimed three important scalps.
What that match winning spell here
With this victory, Rising Pune Supergiants entered the IPL 2017 finale and MS Dhoni became the only player to feature in the last game of the tournament seven times during these ten glorious years.
All eyes will be set on the IPL Eliminator now, where SRH and KKR will battle to remain in the competition at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on 17th May 2017.