5 memorable moments from Rising Pune Supergiants vs Kings XI Punjab that don't fade away

What a shame that the greatest game in the history of IPL had to be a match of no importance as both Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants were already out of the tournament before the game even began.

Both teams went on to the pitch with only one goal: to avert the embarrassment of ending last in the pile. At one point, it seemed like Dhoni’s men would have to taste the wooden spoon, but the captain had something else in mind.

As 16 runs were needed off the last 3 balls, the task was a near impossible one. However, he hit a boundary and 2 sixes in a row to seal off the game, which could be labeled as one of the best finishes in the history of IPL.

There were plenty of memorable moments in the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Here are 5 of the best:

Murali Vijay’s captain’s knock

Ever since he was given the captaincy of the team, his performances improved dramatically. Being the leader of the team meant that he had the extra responsibility on his shoulders to bat well and become an example for his peers.

And he did just that against RPS in their final game of this tournament.

Batting first, he played a superb knock of 59 off just 41 balls in an innings that consisted of 4 fours and 3 sixes. It gave the perfect platform for his middle-order batsmen to launch to a good score and they did as well.

Gurkeerat Singh came into play

Gurkeerat Singh has had his moments. In the IPL of the bygone days, he played some incredible innings to get his name on the radar. Indeed, his performances earned him a cap for India as he featured for them in 3 T20 Internationals.

However, since then, he faded into oblivion and it took him till Punjab's final game of the IPL 2016 to spring back to life.

The batsman played a superb innings of 51 while facing 30 balls in the process and hit 3 sixes and fours each to get there. It helped Punjab score a competitive score of 172, which went in vain in the end.

Ravi Ashwin’s best performance in this IPL

It was rumoured that MS Dhoni and his relationship had deteriorated. As a result, the unorthodox spinner wasn’t handed the ball as often as he used to be. However, another way to look at it is how he fared when he got the chance to bowl. The answer, not too well,

However, against KXIP, he broke the shackles as he bowled his best spell in this year’s IPL—albeit an expensive one.

In the 4 overs that he bowled, he gave away 34 runs—which is not that bad considering how good the pitch was for the batsmen—and took a mammoth 4 wickets in the process. He halted Punjab from scoring more runs and putting an unassailable target on the board.

Thisara Perera’s cameo

Constant fall of wickets meant that Punjab were favourites to win this game with just 7 overs to go. With 87 runs needed off just 40 balls, the task seemed gargantuan, but in came Thisara Perera. The Lankan is a powerful hitter of the ball and that’s the reason why he is the only Sri Lankan playing in this year’s IPL.

He came and smashed his way to a well-made 23 off just 14 balls. The innings might not have taken them home completely, but it was just about enough to get the momentum going in the favour of RPS.

It certainly inspired his captain as we witnessed the greatest ever finish to an IPL game.

MS Dhoni’s incredible finish

Sometimes people wonder whether they are in reality or just a fictional Universe of dream. Dhoni’s last over finish was one of those moments where people began asking questions about the validity of their existence.

With 23 runs needed of the last over, the game was as good as over for Pune. The first ball by Axar Patel was a dot ball, making it 23 off 5. Even harder. Then a wide. Then a six. 16 in 4 balls. Still difficult. Then another dot ball. 16 off 3 balls. Now, this is impossible.

However, nothing is impossible and Dhoni showed just that as he hit a boundary and two consecutive sixes to get his team over the line, in what was a brilliant way to sign off from this IPL by the Pune captain.