The finisher in Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still very much alive. Dhoni (28 not out off 13 balls), at his unflappable best, unleashed those incredible blows that helped his team get those crucial 16 runs off the last four balls of the game and register a thrilling three-wicket win over a stunned Mumbai Indians at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

The butter-fingered Super Kings certainly owe this victory, their second so far in IPL 2022, to their former captain. Thanks to some easy catches that were shelled in the first half, Mumbai were allowed to post a somewhat decent total of 155 for 7 after being put in to bat. On a dry pitch, the extra runs those dropped catches gifted Mumbai were certainly hurting the Super Kings, who needed as many as 17 to win off the deciding over.

Jaydev Unadkat trapped Dwaine Pretorius (replacing the wayward Chris Jordan) lbw off the first ball of the over, much to the delight of Rohit Sharma and his teammates. The next ball was played towards deep mid-wicket by Dwayne Bravo, who gave the strike over to Dhoni.

Thereafter, Unadkat, in spite of all his experience, pitched the third ball right in Dhoni’s arc and he slammed it over the long-off region for a maximum.

The left-arm quick then dug it short, only to find a top edge from Dhoni racing towards the boundary ropes. Dhoni got a couple from the penultimate delivery and it was four required off the last ball.

Unadkat tried a yorker on the middle-and-leg stump, but couldn’t prevail over the brilliance of Dhoni, who whipped the ball comfortably past short fine-leg to take Chennai home.

For Mumbai, this was their seventh loss on the trot and their play-off chances now are practically non-existent.

Alongside Dhoni, left-arm quick Mukesh Choudhary (3/19) was another performer for Chennai, bowling an excellent line to rock the Mumbai top order. The 25-year-old dismissed Rohit, Ishan Kishan and Dewald Brevis.