IPL: 4 times when MS Dhoni was the lone fighter in CSK's defeat

#1 63* off 45 balls vs Mumbai Indians in the IPL final 2013

The IPL final innings of MS Dhoni was special.

It was the final of the IPL 2013! The stage was big and the CSK were playing their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians as they were hunting for their third title.

After the bowlers put up a good show restricting the MI to 148, the Chennai Super Kings lost wickets in clusters at the top and were reeling at 58/8 at one stage. The match was virtually over but not the fight from MSD.

Dhoni smashed the MI bowlers all around the park as he brought up his fifty in the IPL final. From the other end, he got no substantial contribution from CSK lower order. He finished on 63* off 45 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes and prevented what could have been an utter humiliation. Once again, it was the captain who stepped up when no one else did.

Brief scores: MI 148/9 (Pollard 60*, Rayudu 37; Bravo 4/42) beat CSK 125/9 (Dhoni 63*, Vijay 18; Harbhajan 2/14) by 23 runs.