New Delhi: Dhoni made sure his last captaincy stint got an extension by finishing the match with a six to help Jharkhand advance to the semi final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Not only the enthusiastic crowd but also the Vidarbha batsmen seemed to be in awe of Dhoni as Jharkhand ran through them to register an easy 6-wicket win.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, Vidarbha were reduced to 18 for 4 on a track which had no demons.
Nothing to take away from the Jharkhand new ball bowlers Monu Kumar and Varun Aaron, who bend their backs to generate decent pace.
Aaron got Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal with a superb delivery that took the outside edge of his bat and Dhoni did the rest. The crowd went in frenzy as soon as Dhoni threw the ball up in the air to celebrate the wicket.
Vidarbha had no reasons to celebrate though, as they kept on losing wickets. A lot was depended on Rayudu but he also succumbed to a wide delivery outside off stump. If it wasn’t for all-rounder Jangid, who scored a crucial half century Vidarbha would have struggled to cross even the three figure mark.
Chasing a modest target of 160, Jharkhand got a solid start from their openers Ishan kishan (35) and Pratyush Singh (33).
Vidarbha did try to make a comeback by picking up a few wickets in the middle but they were only doing a favour to the small crowd who had gathered to watch Dhoni.
Dhoni came in to at No. 6 with Jhakhand still needing 44 runs to secure victory. The former India captain made sure there no further casualties as Jhakrhand reached home safely.
Dhoni was unbeaten on 18 off 27 balls.