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My favourite MS Dhoni memory is of his keeping, but this story also strongly reminiscent of his chasing strategy with the bat.
In that must-win match against Bangladesh in the 2016 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh needed one run to tie off the last ball and had a tailender on strike.
In that must-win match against Bangladesh in the 2016 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh needed one run to tie off the last ball and had a tailender on strike.
Captain Dhoni didn't just counsel his bowler and set a perfect field. He also had his glove off and measured out strides from the striker's stumps to his standing position behind the wickets. He was standing much closer to the stumps than he normally would.
Only after it happened did it all make sense to me. The tailender swung and missed, and the batsmen started running a bye. Dhoni collected cleanly and sprinted towards the wickets. He got there before the non-striker, and comfortably ran him out without having to make a throw.
Tens of thousands had their hearts in their mouths in the stands. India's home campaign was on the line.
But Dhoni pared all that down to a 1v1 foot race with the non-striker.
But Dhoni pared all that down to a 1v1 foot race with the non-striker.
Having taken stock of everything - the batsman's capability, the ball his bowler would deliver, the speed the non-striker would run, the distance he'd have to cover - he measured all it all to perfection. And he won.
He was just on a separate mental plane from the other 12 people on that field. Maybe on a separate plane from everyone in that packed stadium.
Here's the video:
Here's the video:
