This Saturday, the 17th edition of the IPL will see one of its most anticipated clashes as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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The match is already a big one thanks to the rivalry between both sets of fans. To add to the spice, this is a virtual knockout match as RCB will qualify for the playoffs if they win by 18 runs or more while CSK will go through with any other result.
'He knows what he is doing' - Virat Kohli defends MS Dhoni's style of finishing games
Ahead of the match, there has been much speculation over the future of MS Dhoni in the IPL. Now 42 years old, this could be his last-ever match if CSK is knocked out of the tournament. On Saturday, one of his opponents and his successor as Indian captain Virat Kohli had some strong words to say in Dhoni's defense.
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In an interview with JioCinema, Kohli spoke about the critics of Dhoni's game over the years, saying,
People used to say so many time about Mahi bhai, "Why is he taking the match till the 20th over, 50th over?" How many matches has he finished? He is the only one, he knows what he is doing. Nobody else knows. He knows and he wins it. For me, that is muscle memory.
My mindset is different. I used to always think, "Let's finish it in the 19th or 49th over." But if he is alone out there, he will definitely take it till the last over and scare the other team, making them think, "He will just finish it with a six."
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The relationship between Kohli and Dhoni has been extremely good throughout the years. When the latter gave up captaincy of the Indian white-ball and red-ball teams, Kohli was his successor on both occasions, and the pair ensured that the transition was done with minimum fuss. Under Dhoni, Kohli lifted the 2011 World Cup as well as the 2013 Champions Trophy.
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