Published: Apr 17, 2017, 05:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 17, 2017, 09:26 PM (IST)
Twitterati were on fire with MS Dhoni failing to perform in Rising Pune Supergiant‘s (RPS) first four games of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017. With RPS owner Sanjiv Goenka sacking the former Indian skipper before the tenth edition and his brother, Harsh Goenka, coming hard on him for his run drought, there were lots riding on Dhoni’s shoulders when he came out to bat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday. Nonetheless, the 35-year-old was up for the challenge when his team needed to up the ante against a disciplined RCB bowling line-up. Dhoni contributed with a useful 25-ball 28 and silenced his critics who were doubting his big hitting credentials by hoisting a Yuzvendra Chahal’s delivery on the rooftop. Full Cricket Scorecard, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rising Pune Supergiant, IPL 2017, Match 17
Dhoni’s monstrous stroke came in the 14th over. Virat Kohli resorted to Chahal to put a lid on the scoring and inject a breakthrough with Dhoni-Steven Smith looking to mend things for their side. Chahal had managed to leak only 7 runs off the first 5 balls and bowled a slightly fuller delivery to Dhoni. The right-hander came down the track and smoked a big six by connecting to the sweet part of the blade.
Dhoni will be content with his short cameo but will like to get a big score in his next game. RPS are currently in the bottom half of the points table with 2 wins from 5 games. They will like to continue with their all-round showing against RCB and climb on top of the table in the upcoming clashes.
