Whenever we talk about the greatest finisher ever in the IPL, the names of MS Dhoni, Kieron Pollard, AB de Villiers and Andre Russell pop up in our mind, but when we dig into the stats and try and find out who has actually dominated the death overs the most, which is what a finisher’s job is, there is only one name which stands apart from the rest.
If we break the most number of runs that a batsman has scored in the history of the IPL over by over, the CSK skipper MS Dhoni holds the record of scoring the most number of runs in the 16th, the 17th, the 18th, the 19th and the 20th over of all the IPLs held so far. The last 5 overs of an innings in T20 cricket is generally considered death overs where an onslaught by a finisher can change the complexion of the game.
Comparing Dhoni’s tally of runs in the death overs to the tally of the other finishers in the same period of the innings, the difference is big. While Dhoni has scored 2853 runs in the 16-20 over phase of the IPL, the players at the second and the third position, Kieron Pollard and AB Devilliers have scored 1932 and 1868 runs respectively in the death overs of the IPL.
11 – Raina (391)
12 – Kohli (380)
13 – Kohli (347)
14 – D Karthik (385)
15 – Dhoni (442)
16 – Dhoni (476)
17 – Dhoni (572)
18 – Dhoni (596)
19 – Dhoni (599)
20 – Dhoni (610)(2/2)
— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) March 16, 2022
Advertisement
Dhoni’s skills, temperament and longevity make him the greatest finisher ever in the IPL
One of the reasons behind Dhoni’s huge tally of runs in the death overs is that he almost always bats at a position for CSK where he is at the crease during the latter stages of the innings when the big shots are needed and he has delivered in that tough role for CSK for close to one and a half decades now, which is a long period of time.
It’s not just because of his skills to hit the ball long and the temperament to keep himself calm under pressure that Dhoni is the greatest finisher ever in the IPL, it’s also because of his longevity to be able to keep doing the job for his team season after season that sets him apart from the rest of the finishers.
