MS Dhoni Or Heinrich Klaasen: Who Is A Better Finisher In IPL?

Klaasen Vs MSD stats [Source: @iplt20.com]

The two teams who are at the bottom of the table in the Indian Premier League will collide against each other as the Chennai Super Kings will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Another loss for either of the two sides and they will have one feet out of the qualification race.

While SRH's famed and aggressive batting lineup has failed throughout the tournament, CSK fall in the same category as their batting looks weak and the aggressive intent looks missing. However, there are two players who are still delivering the goods for their side despite the others failing - MS Dhoni and Heinrich Klaasen.

The CSK captain and the SRH finisher have scored crucial runs for their team and in this article we try and find out who is a better finisher amongst the two in the IPL.

 MS Dhoni vs Klaasen: Death overs stats

(MS Dhoni and Klaasen stats)

As the stats suggests, MSD has played for much longer and will obviously have more runs than Klaasen, but the South African and SRH batter has a way better strike-rate of 196.9 as compared to MSD's 176.

Klaasen almost touches the 200-mark when it comes to his death-overs strike-rate and irrespective of the match situation, the numbers do make him one of the most fearsome death overs batters in the league.

 MSD vs Klaasen: death overs stats in last two seasons

Even if we compare the last two seasons - 2024 and the ongoing campaign, Klaasen has taken his game to the next level and strikes at 214.7, while Dhoni is not far behind, but has a strike-rate of 193.9, and it also showcases that a 43-year-old MSD can go toe-to-toe with the in-form Klaasen. If the battle is for the last two seasons, then Klaasen wins the title for the best finisher in IPL.

MSD's overall legacy

Despite the Proteas batter having a better strike-rate, MSD's legacy is unmatched in the league. He has been finishing matches since 2008, and over the last 18 years, T20 Cricket has evolved a lot and has become more batting friendly. Plus, the conditions are more condusive for the batters now than they were 18-years ago when the league started.

Considering MS Dhoni has been doing it for the last so many years, and is still going strong at 43, the India legend just goes ahead of Klaasen, who, himself is a freak of a nature.

Performance under pressure

• MSD as a finisher always delivers under pressure and his iconic knocks against RCB when the team was under pressure is a testimony of it.
• However, while Klaasen always finds way to score runs for SRH, he somehow flunks during the playoffs and last year's finale against KKR is a prime example of it when he departed for a struggling 17-ball 16 as SRH lost the match.

---

ALSO READ

CSK vs SRH: Who Will Score The Most Runs In IPL 2025 Match 43?

---