UAE:The ageless Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced nostalgic little innings to take a band of old men from Chennai Super Kings into their ninth Indian Premier League final after beating Delhi Capitals by four wickets here on Sunday.
Needing 13 off the last over, Dhoni hit a square cut, got a bit of luck going his way and then pulled DC's best bowler Tom Curran for the most celebrated T20 boundary of recent times. Before that, he had just slapped Avesh Khan for a six over mid-wicket.
It was all about turning the clock back for the former India captain who has struggled to finish for years but 'Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man' as he did once more for his favourite cricket team.
Team India captain Virat Kohli, who has shared the dressing room with MS Dhoni for a large part of his career, hailed Dhoni after his knock in the Qualifier 1."Anddddd the king is back. The greatest finisher in the game. Made me jump Outta my seat once again tonight. @msdhoni," wrote Kohli.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals scored 173/5 in 20 overs. In the chase, CSK lost the early wicket of Faf du Plessis (1) before Ruturaj Gaikwad (70) and Robin Uthappa (63) stabilised the CSK innings with a 110-run partnership.
In the end, with 24 needed off 11 deliveries, it was the MS Dhoni show as he slammed Avesh Khan and Tom Curran in the final two overs to seal a final berth for the Super Kings.