The sight of even a 41-year-old MS Dhoni in the last over of a T20 match, especially in a run-chase, is particularly intimidating. Even if the bowler is as seasoned as Sandeep Sharma.
When CSK and Rajasthan Royals met at the Chepauk earlier this season, the two high-quality teams produced a high-scoring thriller that went down to the last ball with Dhoni on strike and needing 5 runs off the final ball from RR Speedster.
The over had started with Sandeep needing to defend 21 runs against Mahendra Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. The CSK captain, rolling back the years, smashed 2 sixes to Sandeep to send the Chepauk crowd into a frenzy. But Sandeep kept his calm after that and delivered a couple of brilliant deliveries – a slower length ball to Dhoni and a yorker to Jadeja. And again on the last ball, Dhoni couldn’t get under Sandeep’s pin-point yorker, and RR won by only 3 runs.
R Ashwin recalled how helped Sandeep make the plan for MS Dhoni
Now, RR off-spinner R Ashwin has recalled that match on his YouTube channel.
In a video going viral on social media, Ravichandran Ashwin said: “Let me give you an example. Sandeep Sharma bowled that last over to Dhoni and he smashed him for two sixes, when you are defending 20 runs and when a guy like Dhoni has smashed you for 2 sixes, the odds of you coming out on top of that battle from there are literally none.
“‘What’s the highest risk ball at this point’, I asked. Sandeep replied, ‘Slower length ball.’ I said, ‘You try bowling that to him now’.
“At the end of the day, at that point in time, whatever is the most riskiest ball the batsman won’t be expecting that. Because the batsman knows that the bowler is under immense pressure. So the batter won’t expect that ball from the bowler,” Ashwin further recalled.
Watch: R Ashwin discusses the Sandeep Sharma vs MS Dhoni battle:
'I' padathla Ramkumar Ganesan solra maari: Side la short'a vagudu eduthu, soft'aa pesinaa Sarath Babu nu nenechiyaa? Main villain eh avar dhaan da!! 😂😭 #HallaBolKonjamNallaBol
Watch the full episode here:https://t.co/F0fgmURG74 pic.twitter.com/yeL1Run9TT
— Crikipidea (@crikipidea) May 3, 2023
The risk of the “riskiest” ball paid off and Sandeed won the match, and 2 crucial points for RR, against the big odds of defending against Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Chepauk.
