Shardul Thakur was one happy camper as he picked up his first international wicket in cricket and he has MS Dhoni to thank. Dhoni, who is very good with taking the right call for the DRS – Decision Referral System.
Dhoni is one of the best readers of the game and his acumen helped Shardul Thakur get his first wicket. The incident occurred in the third over when Thakur bowled a ball down the leg side to Niroshan Dickwella who got a faint edge that went towards Dhoni. Dhoni took the catch but the umpire adjudged the decision not out.
The former captain then gestured towards the Indian captain Virat Kohli to call for the DRS. Dhoni played in his 300th ODI, becoming only the 20th international cricketer to reach the milestone.
Good 300th match for the legend:
MS Dhoni had a good match, scoring 49* in the first innings as he guided the team to 375 along with Manish Pandey. He managed to steer the boat after a small collapse following Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s centuries. With that innings, MS Dhoni also became the number 1 batsman in the list of most number of not outs in ODI cricket.
In the last three ODIs, MS Dhoni has been in terrific form with the bat. He has batted with a lot of responsibility and steadied the ship with his good shot selection and cool head.
The keeper has always had a good record when it comes to the referral system. He generally takes the call and Kohli trusts his acumen and he has never let the team down.
Dhoni is shaping up to be an excellent mentor for the rest of the team and is playing the role of enabling his teammates. He still has a few years left in him and will look to play the 2019 World Cup as his final tournament before retiring.
By Rohit Nair
