One of the iconic innings in the Indian Premier League came when MS Dhoni slammed a 29-ball 54 against Punjab Kings in 2010 in the picturesque Dharamsala ground to take to the semi-final stages of the competition. Chennai Super Kings not only qualified for the semifinal but also eventually won their maiden title that season
On Sunday, Prabhsimran Singh won the Player of the Match for his 48-ball 91 at the same venue. Former Aussie and Super Kings players have drawn a comparison between Prabhsimran and MS Dhoni while recalling the latter’s iconic match-winning innings in the chase back in 2010.
“He has got great power. Back in 2010, there was a young MS Dhoni who was launching balls in the last over of the day. Prabhsimran has got similar sort of attributes. He has wonderful bat speed, a solid base. He is not that tall, so he can really manoeuvre the ball into the gaps and he is fearless,” Hayden said on Star Sports during mid-innings break.
“You can see by the way he took on the deliveries against . He was in complete control. He has forced the bowlers to make mistakes,” Hayden added on Prabhsimran.
“I started well, I had a lot of confidence from my last innings. I got a chance early on and I was able to capitalize. There’s no strategy as such, I’m playing the ball on its merit, want to thank the management as well for backing me. I felt I can take a bit of time after the powerplay,” analysed Prabhsimran on his knock.
MS Dhoni produced one of his cameos – hitting 16 runs of the last over – to power to the semifinals of the 2010 edition. CSK needed 16 off the last over from Irfan Pathan to chase down 193 runs and Dhoni (54 not out off 29 balls) took his team home with two balls to spare.
Dhoni struck the first ball for four, mistimed and skied the second but Piyush Chawla fell short. Two runs were added to the score. Dhoni then cleared the long on off successive balls as two towering sixes ended the game and Dhoni collected the stumps.
