When Dhoni's calm made the difference once again

Many believe MS Dhoni has stayed on one season too long in the IPL, and the inevitable slowdown at 43 years is also dragging the five-time champions down.

- Sharad Deep

LUCKNOW: Even a calm unit that Chennai Super Kings are, they have struggled to explain as they have stumbled from one loss to another this season.

Monday evening at Lucknow Super Giants proved an exception. The stamp of Dhoni's leadership is the calmness, and this time, with regular skipper Ruturaj Gaekwad injured, CSK's talisman took charge and sealed only their second win in seven games. Stuck at the bottom of the 10-team table, the odd win may not do, but CSK's and Dhoni's legion of fans can keep believing that their hero can still work his magic in the chase for a playoffs spot.

Quick running between the wicket may be beyond him, and his reflexes may have slowed down, but Dhoni's astuteness in judging a chase is still very much there. In the end, that helped steer the side to a five-wicket win with three balls to spare against Lucknow Super Giants at Lucknow's Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.