“I forced him to bowl the way I wanted him to bowl” - When MS Dhoni made big revelation behind historic spell in 2014 Lord’s Test

Team India's thrilling victory in the 2014 Lord's Test against England remains arguably former captain MS Dhoni's crowning moment in red-ball cricket. Yet, it did not happen without the skipper forcing veteran pacer Ishant Sharma to bowl against his preferred line and length.

After a seesaw first four days saw both teams throw punches at each other, the Test match was on a knife-edge on the final day. Chasing 319 for victory, the hosts were well-placed on 173/4 when Dhoni forced Ishant into the short-ball strategy, against the pacer's wish.

The move worked wonders as Ishant picked up five of the final six wickets, including five straight, in no time, helping India pull off a 95-run victory.

Revealing his ploy with Ishant in the post-match press conference, Dhoni said (via The Guardian):

"To start with it was very difficult to convince him to bowl short or around the wicket. You have to tell him that it still counts as a Test wicket when you are bowling short, not only when you get a nick to the keeper. At times it becomes difficult to make them understand even if you are saying it in simple words. So I set a field to him so he couldn’t even think of pitching it up; that was the start. I gave him the field that forced him to bowl the way I wanted him to bowl."

He added:

"Once he got his first wicket [having Moeen Ali caught at short-leg, with the last delivery of the morning session] he was eager enough. This is definitely something that will be added to his armoury."

Ishant finished with incredible figures of 7/74 - the best by an Indian bowler at Lord's, in the final innings. The win helped India take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

MS Dhoni's side fell away in the rest of the series after the famous Lord's win

Unfortunately for MS Dhoni and his men, the Lord's Test was their final moment of triumph in a forgettable 2014 Test series in England. The hosts bounced back with a resounding 266-run win in the third Test at Southampton to level the series at 1-1.

Things continued to trend south for the visitors with England winning the final two Tests by innings margins to clinch the series 3-1. Despite the disastrous finish to the Test series, India bounced back and won the ODI series 3-1.

The 2014 Test series was Dhoni's last red-ball tour of England as he retired from the Test format during the Australian tour later in the year.