Super Kings Stun Royals With An Incredible Last-ball Win

Dhoni leads from the front, becomes first captain to register 100 wins in the competition; Santner seals it with a six off the final delivery

- P.K. Ajith Kumar

Less than 24 hours after Alzarri Joseph scampered a two off the final ball to give Mumbai Indians a thrilling win over Kings XI Punjab, Mitchell Santner smashed a six off the final delivery to script an incredible win for Chennai Super Kings over Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Thursday.

The defending champion had needed three off the last ball, when Santner, playing only his second match of the season, lofted Ben Stokes over long-on. The final over, from which Chennai had required 18, also saw some controversy with the CSK captain M.S. Dhoni running on to the field to argue with the umpire over a no-ball.

The night, however, was a special one for Dhoni in many ways. He made 58 (43b, 2x4, 3x6) and added 95 for the fifth wicket with Ambati Rayudu (57, 47b, 2x4, 3x6) — a partnership that proved to be a match-winning one.

Different hundreds

This was also Dhoni’s 100th win in the IPL as captain, the first to achieve the feat. The match also had another Chennai player reaching a milestone as Ravindra Jadeja took his 100th wicket.

Chasing a target of 152, CSK was reeling at 24 for four in the sixth over when Dhoni and Rayudu came together. Some superb bowling by the Royals’ seamers and brilliant fielding had put CSK under pressure.