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.
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