Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the wicketkeeper, often gets overshadowed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the batsman. However, the Indian skipper’s ‘blind’ run-out in India’s third ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday has brought back memories of the times Dhoni displayed some crazy wicket-keeping skills.
Not only is Dhoni India’s most successful captain in Test and ODIs, he is also India’s most capped and successful wicketkeeper in both the formats. He also has the fourth highest career dismissals by any wicketkeeper in the world, after Kumar Sangakkara, Adam Gilchrist, and Mark Boucher.
Here’s a look back at five instances when Dhoni displayed his skills behind the stumps.
1. MS Dhoni, The Ninja
So what if the batsman hasn’t even the hit the ball, MS Dhoni already knows where the ball is going to go.
In Rising Pune Supergiants’ match against Kings XI Punjab during the 2016 edition of the IPL, Dhoni had an inkling that Manan Vohra was going to try cutting a good length delivery from left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma. And in anticipation, Dhoni chose to stick his right leg out instead of moving his arms, blocking the ball perfectly.
2. As Fast As Lightning
No one beats MS Dhoni’s reflexes. And he proved that in India’s incredible 1-run victory over Bangladesh in a nerve-wracking low-scoring thriller in the 2015 ICC World T20. In an instance of daredevilry and innovative thinking, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took his right gloves off when Hardik Pandya came in to bowl the last delivery with two runs required.
Pandya bowled a fuller delivery wide of Shuvagato Hom who missed it and Dhoni caught it with only his inner gloves on.
As Mustafizur started sprinting from the other end, the 34 plus Indian skipper beat his younger opponent in a short sprint to whip off the bails as the entire Chinnaswamy Stadium erupted in joy.
Skip to 2:46 to watch the winning moment.
3. Wicket-Keeper and Fielder
Going back to England’s tour of India on 31 March 2006, Dhoni effected Paul Collingwood’s run-out in spectacular fashion.
After hitting the ball on the leg side, Collingwood thought a single would be easy. Little did he know that a fast-thinking and skilful Mahendra Singh Dhoni would run in from behind the stumps and score a direct hit at the striker’s end.
Sounds easy but have a look at the video for a better understanding of what went down.
4. Dhoni’s One Step Ahead
India’s fielding coach R Sridhar told the Indian Express:
While others use their hands to produce that give, he uses his wrists. While his hands are going towards the stumps, there’s a slight flick of the wrists in the backward direction. That’s the Mahi way, and it’s one step ahead of the regular wicket-keeping manual.R Sridhar, Indian Fielding Coach
Watch, for instance, Dhoni’s super dismissal of Dinesh Chandimal. (Please ignore the initial part of the video. We could not verify whether Dhoni holds any such record.)
5. Dhoni Turns Half-Chances into Wickets
MS Dhoni’s style behind the stumps sets him apart from other wicketkeepers. Known for keeping close to the stumps, Dhoni’s ability to turn half-chances into wickets has made him special.
And in this one instance during India’s 2015 World Cup match against Bangladesh, Dhoni dived full length to get Soumya Sarkar out. Watch the video here.
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