T20 World Cup Top Moments: When peak MS Dhoni helped India pull off a last-ball heist

MS Dhoni is in the news. Last Sunday, Dhoni, who has been struggling for runs, came to bat at a crucial juncture and took Chennai Super Kings home. It was a last-over finish , an art Dhoni mastered over the years. ‘Dhoni finishes off in style’ is not an urban myth. It is rooted in facts. Five years back, in March, Dhoni finished a match in Bengaluru. He didn’t end it with his trademark six. He ended it by sprinting to the stumps and breaking them. Sprint is another Dhoni trademark. But this time, it was not for completing a run. This was to stop the batsman from completing a run. One run would’ve tied the match but Dhoni’s sprint resulted in a successful run-out. India beat Bangladesh by one run. This was a group game (Super 10) of the 2016 T20 World Cup, which was taking place in India. The host nation lost their opening match against New Zealand but defeated Pakistan in the next. Bangladesh needed a win in Bengaluru after suffering two defeats. After 39.3 overs, the match was in Bangladesh’s grasp. They were two runs short of their first T20I victory against India. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah were in the middle. It was a done deal until it wasn’t. India were made to bat first and they found it difficult to find the boundaries. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli all got the starts but couldn’t make a big one. Suresh Raina made the highest runs in the innings – 30 off 23 balls. India ended up with 146/7 in 20 overs. It was a tricky target chase.

Jasprit Bumrah misfield resulted in a boundary to Tamim Iqbal off the first ball of Bangladesh innings. A few balls later, Tamim gets a life after bowler Ashish Nehra dropped a return catch. A few overs later, Tamim gets another reprieve. Bumrah was at fault once again as he dropped a simple chance at short fine-leg. To make matters worse, Tamim hit Bumrah for four boundaries in the sixth over. Tamim would’ve thought it was his day to seize. The universe is behind him to ensure he enjoys all the luck. So, in the eighth over, he took a risk to charge down the track against Ravinder Jadeja only to find the ball had kept low and Dhoni, in a split second, has disturbed the stumps after the batsman had been beaten. Usually, luck favours the brave but Tamim had used up his share on that night. The next wicket was also a Dhoni stumping. This was another Dhoni trademark. The Indian skipper collected a wide down the leg delivery by Raina, quickly broke the stumps and appealed mildly for a stumping. It didn’t look very close but Sabbir Rahman’s momentum took him forward and his foot was in the air when the stump lights flickered. Bangladesh lost their sixth wicket for 126 and they still needed 21 runs from 13 balls. Soumya Sarkar and Shakib Al Hasan played a few hits but eventually perished. The equation then came down to 11 runs from six balls. Hardik Pandya took the ball and conceded two boundaries off the first three balls. The second four was a scoop to fine-leg and Rahim celebrated thinking his team can’t lose from this position. He thought he had his revenge for the Asia Cup final loss which Bangladesh suffered three weeks back against the same opponents. Maybe Rahim cluttered his mind with all the unnecessary thinking because he hit the next ball straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket. Mahmudullah also fell in the next delivery; it was a full-toss and was meant to be hit into the stands but the batsman didn’t time it and Jadeja took a brilliant catch under pressure. Dhawan who took the previous catch was removed from deep mid-wicket and Dhoni had placed Jadeja at the same spot. This was captaincy at its best. This was peak Dhoni. It wasn’t over though. One ball was remaining and Bangladesh needed two to win. Here’s what Dhoni had said after the match on his plans for the final ball: “One thing was sure. We don’t want to bowl a yorker. It had to be a back of a length delivery, but how much back of the length is the question. You don’t want to bowl a wide and by the time it travels to the keeper, the batsman has the opportunity to take one more run.” Hardik executed the plan to the T. It was a wide back of a length ball. Shuvagata Hom missed his shot. Mustafizur Rahman started running from the non-striker’s end. Dhoni had already taken one glove off when he collected the ball. The Indian skipper didn’t opt for the throw. He sprinted and managed to snap the stumps before Mustafizur’s bat crossed the line. The run-out decision was left to the third umpire. The big screen showed out in a bright red background and Bangladesh players were left red-faced.

To read more standout moments from past T20 World Cups,  click here