MS Dhoni is generally one of the finest runners between the wickets because of his fitness and agility. He is a good judge of a run as well, as he picks his fielders whom he challenges all the time whenever the ball goes towards them.
However, despite being a good judge of a run, Dhoni has run himself out at crucial junctures of some of the big games. Here are the 4 games where Dhoni ran himself out at the wrong time –
#1 India vs England, Nagpur Test 2012:
England had already taken an unassailable lead of 2-1 in the Test series and India desperately needed to win the last Test match of the series, which was played in Nagpur, to draw the series.
However, India’s top and middle order batsmen, as it had happened in most parts of the series, fell cheaply again and it was down to the captain Dhoni himself to steady India’s ship along with the youngster Virat Kohli.
Dhoni and Kohli put on a three-figure partnership for the 6th wicket and made sure England didn’t run away with the game. While Kohli scored a hundred, Dhoni ran himself out at 99. That game eventually ended in a draw.
#2 World Cup 2015 semi-final:
India were chasing a huge score of 328 in that game and although they got off to a blistering start, they couldn’t quite sustain that run rate as they lost frequent wickets in the middle overs.
It was down to Dhoni once again to take the game deep and although the then Indian captain played a few crisp shots and scored 65 off 65 balls, India eventually fell a long way short of the target.
In his attempt to farm the strike as much as he could towards the end, Dhoni went for a very risky single and got run out. With his dismissal, India lost any whisker of hope that they might have to win the game.
Australia beat India by 95 runs in that game.
#3 IPL 2019 final:
Dhoni was hitting the ball hard and clean right through IPL 2019 and when CSK lost 3 wickets at 70 odd in pursuit of their target of 149 runs against Mumbai Indians, every CSK fan was looking up to Dhoni for another match winning knock.
Shane Watson was batting at the other end and was going well. A decent partnership there would have closed the game for CSK, but Dhoni was sent back to the pavilion by a brilliant throw from Ishan Kishan.
That Dhoni dismissal gave Mumbai an edge and they eventually ended up winning the final.
#4 World Cup 2019 semi-final:
The New Zealand fast bowlers made early inroads with the new ball and got India totally down on the mat.
With 6 wickets down on just 92 runs, India didn’t have that much of a chance of chasing down the target of 240, but as long as Dhoni was there, the Indian fans hadn’t lost hopes.
Ravindra Jadeja produced an absolute batting masterclass as well and with a century partnership with Dhoni for the 7th wicket, he kept India’s hopes alive.
Dhoni himself also scored a half-century and was setting himself up for an onslaught in the last couple of overs. But when it eventually came to landing the knockout punch, he got himself run out in the 48th over and India lost the game.
