Pant's no-look magic, a 110-metre hit, Gaikwad wows Dhoni

Rishabh Pant has played that no-look, no-feet, no-care-in-the-world whip over fine leg numerous times in his career, and he has done it off bowlers far better than Venkatesh Iyer. But every Rishabh Pant thing that Rishabh Pant did during IPL 2024 was an occasion to celebrate, and this shot was particularly heartwarming because it involved a significant amount of knee-flexing, and we all know what Pant's knees have gone through. This was another sign that Pant was back, properly, reconstructed ligaments and all.

RCB's comeback from one win in eight matches into the playoffs was the story of the tournament. After every kind of miraculous effort, it still came down to a youngster bowling to MS Dhoni in the final over to deny CSK the required net run rate to knock RCB out. Yash Dayal tried a back-of-the-hand slower ball, ended up offering a juicy full toss, and Dhoni monstered it over the Chinnaswamy stands and onto one of the roads. Now it is said that Dhoni aims to hit such a morale-busting six first ball of the last over following which bowlers lose their composure, which is more urban legend than anything. This shot is my favourite of this IPL because it led to another, opposing urban legend: because Dhoni hit the ball out of the ground and lost it, Dayal could execute slower deliveries with the replacement ball that was dry, and redeem himself after having been hit for five sixes in the last over by Rinku Singh last year.

MS Dhoni knows sixes. So, when his eyes widened, and he pushed his lips up and out, as he watched the ball sail over the boundary with an appreciative nod, it's proof that something special has happened. Akash Madhwal was bowling. He had seen the batter charge at him. Making room outside leg stump. So he corrected his course. And dragged his line wide. Ruturaj Gaikwad was mid-move when he realised he was out of position. This was a ball that he wasn't supposed to reach. It was also a ball that he hit for six over point. Gaikwad is far from the ideal T20 batter but his sense for timing and placement can tempt even the most esteemed jaws to hit the floor.