MSD or ABDV - Who is the better finisher?

The art of finishing an innings is something which does not come naturally to every batsman and nor can everyone get better no matter how hard they try. This is a quality inherent in a selected few, as has been witnessed over the years. Very few batsmen have had this ability to take their team over the line repeatedly in different matches when there is a crunch situation. Talking of players of yesteryear, players like Lance Kluesener, Steve Waugh, Ajay Jadeja have earned that reputation, with Michael Bevan being probably the best of the lot, who bailed Australia out of dire straits on multiple occasions, which proved to be a key component of their success in the late 90s. This value proposition is becoming all the more coveted in this era because of the advent of T20, where there’s a crunch situation every other match and hence a need for an able finisher in the middle of the innings who could take his team over the line. In this era, two batsman who could fit into this category are AB Devilliers and Indian captain MS Dhoni.
      Both strike fear in the minds of the bowlers, especially when batting in the business end of the innings is concerned. Both of them are pretty unorthodox as well as entertaining. AB Devilliers has virtually every shot in the book and makes use of the back end of the innings through cheeky lap shots and paddle shots as well as that clean strike of his over midwicket, where as MS Dhoni makes use of his brute strength which helps in clearing boundaries in any stadium, with his trade mark pull shots, short arm jabs and of course, the helicopter. These attributes of both of these players comes in handy in giving their teams that extra impetus while setting a target or to release pressure while chasing a stiff target. But, the most important attribute that is common to both of these players is the ability to soak pressure and sustain cool temperament and a calm demeanor under pressure, when the chips are down.
        Now how do they fair against each other if we put them head to head in order to decide who’s the best finisher of this generation? Focusing on T20s first, I think there is nothing to differentiate between the two of them, as both have won matches for their national sides as well as IPL teams, while chasing as well as setting a target. I remember that 47* off 17 balls which AB Devilliers scored for RCB against the Deccan chargers, where he decimated Dale Steyn in that one over taking 23 runs off him. MS Dhoni has had such exploits for Chennai Superkings time and again, with the innings against Kings XI at Dharamsala in IPL 2009 instantaneously coming to mind although he has not the same impact for India as far as T20s are concerned. Moving on, in ODIs, I think MS Dhoni is quite a distance ahead of everyone else in this generation as far as finishing games is concerned. He has bailed India out of trouble on numerous occasions with utmost ease. The calmness which he exhibits under pressure is just exemplary. His style of keeping wickets in hand and taking things till the end for that final flourish, is becoming more and more popular in world cricket. Starting off as the long-haired chap who used to end innings by hitting sixes, he has come a long way as one who can now handle crisis situations with ease and take his team over the line. It has become so frequent over the last few years that you would have a hard time picking one or two innings as his best. However, the innings in the World Cup final would probably stand out as the most memorable one, which gave India a comprehensive win at the end while the match was placed in a dicey situation at a point of time. I think that was the innings which made the entire cricketing fraternity to stand up for the man and acknowledge his terrific exploits in finishing innings under pressure.
      Although AB devilliers can bamboozle bowlers like no other player in this age with his choice and range of shots, my vote for the better finisher would go to MS Dhoni because of consistently winning matches for his country day in day out. His finishing has been instrumental in India’s success and rise to a cricketing superpower in recent years. His performances in run chases especially have been really noteworthy. Infact I would put MS along side Bevan as the two best finishers of all time.