IPL 2023: "GOAT Finisher" - MS Dhoni's Back-To-Back Sixes In Final Over vs Punjab Kings Breaks Internet

30.04.2023 - 12:19 sports.ndtv.com

MS Dhoni is widely considered to be one of the best finishers of all time in world cricket and the Chennai Super Kings skipper totally lived up to his reputation as he slammed back-to-back sixes in the final over of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 encounter against Punjab Kings on Sunday.

Dhoni came out to bat in the 19th over of the match and although he tried to hit the big shot from the first ball, the connection was not there.

However, it all changes on the fifth ball of the final over as he slammed Sam Curran for a flat six over backward point. The crowd at the Chepauk Stadium could not contain their excitement as chants of "Dhoni, Dhoni' could be heard from all corners.

The veteran batter took strike for the final ball and it was met with a similar fate as he heaved it over the mid-wicket fielder to his second maximum.

cricket MS Dhoni Chennai Super Kings Devon Conway Sam Curran India Chennai

Rajasthan Royals (RR) star batter Jos Buttler registered an unwanted batting record on Friday, becoming a player with the most ducks in a single season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The batter registered this record during the match against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala. In the match, he was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada for a three-ball duck. This is his fifth duck in this season. There are some batters who have scored four ducks in a single IPL season: Herchelle Gibbs (Deccan Chargers, 2009), Mithun Manhas (Pune Warriors India, 2011), Manish Pandey (Pune Warriors India, 2012), Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals, 2020), Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders, 2021) and Nicholas Pooran (Punjab Kings, 2021).

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Delhi Capitals will be squaring off against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2023 match on Saturday, at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi. DC will be coming to this clash after registering a 15-run victory over Punjab Kings. On the other hand, CSK faced a six-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match. Currently, CSK are at the second spot on the points table with 15 points and just require a win to qualify into the playoffs. A win would, however, confirm a play-off spot but whether they finish in second place or third would depend on the Lucknow Super Giants' result against Kolkata Knight Riders later in the day.

Watch: PBKS Star Liam Livingstone Is All Smiles After Getting Bowled vs RR In IPL 2023 Game. Ex-India Players Unimpressed

Punjab Kings on Friday became the third team to be knocked out of the IPL 2023 after losing to Rajasthan Royals in a home match in Dharamsala on Saturday. Batting first, they set a 188-run target for RR before the visiting team reached the target in 19.4 overs. The start to PBKS' innings was poor as their top-order batters misfired. Much was expected from the big-hitting Liam Livingstone but he failed to deliver. He fell on just nine while trying to go for a hoick against Navdeep Saini and got bowled. He could be seen smiling after getting bowled. Former India cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Harbhajan Singh were clearly not impressed with the act. Yusuf went to the extent of saying that had they been in the PBKS set up, they would not have picked for laughing after playing a poor shot.

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Punjab Kings suffered a big blow to their playoff hopes as they lost to Delhi Capitals in an IPL 2023 game on Wednesday. With the loss, PBKS remain at the eighth place with 12 points from 13 games and a net-run-rate of -0.308. DC, who are already out of the playoff race, rose from the last spot to be placed ninth with 10 points from 13 games (NRR -0.572). Gujarat Titans are the only team which has sealed a playoff berth. Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians currently are among the top-four teams.

Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals: Predicted XIs For Both Sides In IPL 2023

Punjab Kings will be looking to keep their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 playoff dreams alive while Delhi Capitals will aim to finish their campaign on a winning note as the two teams face each other in Dharamsala on Wednesday. This will be the first match at the venue and it will host another match in the tournament as PBKS will take on Rajasthan Royals. DC were eliminated from the tournament following their loss against PBKS in their last match. However, PBKS continue to fight for a spot in the top four as wins in their last two games will take them to 14 points.