India pulled off a famous win over Bangladesh on Wednesday, a victory by 1 run that kept their hopes alive of qualifying for the World T20 semis. This match, which already has entered the annals of the most unbelievable victories pulled off by Team India, might also be remembered in future as the match that ignited their 2016 World T20 campaign. For the longest time on Wednesday, it looked as if the hosts, the pre-tournament favourites, were going to have to face the ignominy of an early exit.
One of the reasons why India have come out on top in several similar close matches in recent years is the captaincy of MS Dhoni, who has made the art of finishing out matches his own. When most players suffer a brain freeze in the pressure of the situation is when Dhoni’s mind seems to work the best.
When a lot of Indian fans were switching off their television sets in despair as the Bangladeshi batsmen seemed to be on course to inflicting a painful defeat, Dhoni was producing his top game – plugging holes in his field, listening to his players and talking to them, and in general bringing a method to the madness that could have easily taken the game away from a less aware captain.
Five masterstrokes that were seen from the India captain:
Run Ashwin run! – The vital extra run
Not many would credit the last ball of the Indian batting innings of having played a vital role in the win, but it is worthwhile remembering how Dhoni pushed Ashwin for an extra run, the one run that turned out to be the difference between the two teams.
As Mustafizur pumped in a yorker off the last ball of the innings, Dhoni dug it out. A six would have got the score past 150, but he was determined to get as close to it as possible. He launched into running, but his partner was not the quickest. Ashwin put his hand up after running the single, as the throw started coming in.
Not caring if he would be run out, Dhoni started running the second run, and yelled to Ashwin to follow his lead. Ashwin did follow his captain, but he was much slower and had the throw come to the bowler’s end, he would have been gone.
Dhoni had been committed to the double from the very first, and the throw was a little wayward, and so he managed to reach his ground comfortably. India finished at 146/7. A fighting total had been achieved.
Giving Shakib the slip – The Ashwin gamble
A lot has been said about Pandya’s last over and how using him was a brilliant move, but the truth that is evident is that Dhoni did not have any other option. Part-timers like Suresh Raina or Yuvraj Singh were the only other bowlers who had not completed their quota of overs, and so the 20th over was not Dhoni’s masterstroke.
His masterstroke in terms of rotating his bowlers had come in the 13th over, when he had brought back Ashwin. With 8 overs remaining, Bangladesh needed 52 runs to win. Shakib al Hasan had hoiked Jadeja for a six in the previous over, and was looking dangerous. Ashwin had only one over remaining, but bringing him on was a gamble Dhoni had to take.
To back up his gamble, Dhoni instated a slip for Shakib. With a danger man at the crease in the 13th over, and the required RPO just hovering over 6, this is a strategy not many captains would have used. But Dhoni is not like other captains.
As if fate had colluded with the India captain, the first ball of the 13th over took an outside edge off Shakib's bat and travelled to Raina at first slip. Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah played out the rest of Ashwin’s over without incident. 51 more runs were required off 42 balls with new batsmen at the crease. India had no more overs from Ashwin to turn to, who finished with figures of 2/20, but the game was clearly back in the balance.
Turning chaos into order – What he told Bumrah
With 34 runs needed to win off the last 4 overs, Dhoni needed his death overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah to be on the top of his game. The youngster had been dispatched for 19 runs in his first 2 overs and had suffered a horrible day in the field.
As pressure mounted, the unusual sight of team meetings were seen on the field, with increasing frequency. With a World T20 exit looming, all the India players converged around the bowler, each offering his own opinion. Each dot ball was cheered, and every run given away was like the exfoliation of a national dream.
As Ashwin said after the match, “I think this is probably the most we have discussed on a cricket field as a team. We have never really got together and worried so much about a game before.”
Dhoni said after the match how he had had to sort through the chaos of opinions in the middle. He said that he would not reveal how he directed Bumrah, but was confident that whatever he had said had made the difference.
On what he had to do to ensure that the youngster did not get overwhelmed by all the advice, Dhoni said, “What you are trying to do is manage chaos. Everybody will come and each will have his own opinion. Often, a batsmen will differ to the bowler's opinion. But what you have to do is you have to see what the strength of the batsman is, who is batting at that point of time, how the wicket is behaving, whether there is some kind of reverse swing or no reverse swing on offer.
“It's important at that point of time to tell him that it doesn't really matter because what has happened has happened. Even if you sit there for half an hour, the batsman won't get out. I won't tell you what I said but it definitely worked."
Bumrah produced six perfect yorkers in his next two overs, managing a remarkable comeback from a forgettable day. His two overs gave away only thirteen runs. What the captain told Bumrah after the crowd of senior teammates had dispersed might never be known, but things like these are what contribute to the legend of Dhoni.
Moving Jadeja to deep mid-wicket
With two runs required of three balls, India had nothing to fall back on but prayers. As for Dhoni, this would be when he would bring the whole of his acute reading of the game into play, anticipating the opponent’s move before the thought had even been conceived.
Mushfiqur Rahim perished after having holed out to Shikhar Dhawan at deep mid-wicket. Dhawan cupped the catch with ease, but Dhoni knew from the Bangladeshi approach he would be needing his best fielder at that position. Ravindra Jadeja was moved to deep mid-wicket, and Dhawan moved to deep cover.
What followed was a vindication of the move, and the cricketing brain of Dhoni. Mahmudullah skied the ball towards the same region, but this one would fall much shorter than the previous chance. Jadeja burst into a run, slid in, grabbed a two-handed catch and looked towards the crowd to let out a roar. Any other fielder would have struggled to take that catch.
The impossible was on course to being scripted. From having looked like Bangladesh's match for the taking, it had come down to a last-ball thriller, with all three results possible.
Gloves off for final ball
In all the works of genius that Dhoni accomplishes, it is easy to forget that his primary role is that of the wicket-keeper, which role too Dhoni shone in on Wednesday. For some, his greatest piece of work behind the stumps was the dismissal of Sabbir Rahman. As the batsman lost his balance while trying to flick a quicker ball by Raina down the leg side he lost his balance, and a lightining piece of work from Dhoni ensured that he lost his wicket too.
Sabbir’s foot had been off the ground for the tiniest fraction of a moment, and it was at that precise moment that Dhoni dislodged the bails.
However, it was what he did before the final ball of the Bangladesh innings that qualifies as a masterstroke of captaincy. With one run required to take the match into a super over, and two bowlers Shuvagata Hom and Mustafizur Rahman at the crease, Dhoni knew that there was a big chance that the batsmen would go for a run and that a run out would have to be effected. And so, he took his gloves off, in readiness for the killer blow.
And what a killer blow it was, denying Bangladesh by a few inches, scripting a memorable win, and keeping India’s chances alive at the World T20.
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