MS Dhoni, the former skipper is regarded as one of the best skippers in the world. He is regarded as the smartest man on the field and his decisions and field-positions have always worked wonders for Team India. Over the years, he has given us many brilliant and amazing moments while leading the Indian cricket team and his IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings.
Here, in this article, we bring you 5 instances where MS Dhoni proved that he is the smartest man on the field. Have a look:
1. Made players practice bowl out before the match:
This happened during the iconic 2007 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup when India was about to lock their horns against their arch-rivals Pakistan in their final group match. The Indian cricket team was in a do or die situation to qualify for the next round.
However, before the match, the new skipper of the Indian cricket team had asked his teammates to practice the bowl out in the nets before the match, as he was aware that it was in the rules. The decision worked in favor of team India as India went on to win the bowl-out 3-0.
During the same match, MS Dhoni decided to not go with his premier bowlers as he thought that the ball might swing a little and not hit the stumps. Therefore, in that match, MS Dhoni decided to go with his part-time bowlers, Virender Sehwag and Robin Uthappa, along with Harbhajan Singh.
2. Removing gloves during crucial moments:
Well, this is something we witness a lot. MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the greatest keeper-batsman in the world. However, there have been many times when MS Dhoni’s presence of mind and smartness worked wonders for team India. However, there was this one moment that left everyone stunned with the way things worked after he removed gloves during crucial moments.
The moment took place during the 2016 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh when team Bangladesh only needed two runs to win from the final ball. Before Hardik Pandya was about to deliver the last ball, MS Dhoni decided to remove the glove from his right hand as it would make it easier for him to grab the ball.
Fortunately, the plan worked in favor of Team India as the batsman couldn’t hit the ball but decided to go for a single and this is when MS Dhoni collected the ball and sprinted the stumps.
3. Setting the field for Bangladesh while batting:
In a hilarious turn of events, during the final warm-up match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between India and Bangladesh, the former Indian skipper was seen helping the Bangladesh cricketers by setting up the field for them.
It happened during the start of the 40th over, MS Dhoni stopped Sabbir Rahman on his run-up as a Bangladeshi player was wandering around between mid-wicket and square leg in an unusual position. This incident left everyone in splits, including the commentators.
4. When he put a fielder right behind the umpire:
This happened during the IPL 2010 Final, Mumbai Indians player Kieron Pollard was holding the innings together for his team when MS Dhoni came up with a perfect plan to get rid of Kieron Pollard, who was constantly trying to target the straight boundary. MS Dhoni then placed a fielder behind the umpire and this made Kieron Pollard change his plan and he ended up hitting the ball straight to a fielder. And this is how Chennai Super Kings won their maiden.
5. When he scolded Khaleel in the middle of the pitch:
This incident took place during an ODI match last year in Adelaide against Australia. During the match, the pressure was high on team India as they were chasing a big total. With a few more overs to go, MS and DK decided to go for drinks break.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Khaleel Ahmed, went in the middle to give the drinks to Dhoni and Karthik. However, during this, Khaleel mistakenly walked on the pitch and a few seconds later, we all witnessed how MS Dhoni giving an earful to Khaleel Ahmed.
