Mahendra Singh Dhoni is surely one of the greatest finishers and captains India has ever produced in cricket history. MS Dhoni holds numerous records in his name. To begin with, he is the only captain to win all the major ICC trophies, including T20 World Cup 2007, World Cup 2011, and Champion Trophy 2013. Moreover, he led India to no.1 test rankings in the world.
MS Dhoni has been coined as the genius of the game. Whosoever has played with Dhoni doesn’t hesitate to declare MS Dhoni as the finest captain under whom they have played. Lighting quick stumping to unique field placements to pulling off some impossible victories defines the aura of MS Dhoni. His calm and composed behavior on the field and off the field doesn’t let a player feel nervous around him and brings out their A-game.
Why did we say MS Dhoni was the cleverest among all? Undoubtedly due to his captaincy skills but also for his small instances where he fooled or tricked the opposition and showed them who got the brains here.
Here are instances when MS Dhoni Tricked the Opposition-
1) Geraint Jones England Wicket-Keeper
In his early cricketing days, MS Dhoni was playing an ODI against England and was on strike. MS Dhoni missed the ball hitting his pad and then Geraint Jones who was England’s wicket-keeper threw the ball onto the stumps but Dhoni was already in the crease. However, after this, MS Dhoni ran for a single and then observed no one was picking up the ball near the stumps and then quickly ran for another run. This is how Dhoni converted 0 runs into 2 runs.
2) In an ODI match when Kieron Pollard tried to act smarter than Dhoni
India was playing an ODI match against West Indies and Dhoni was on the non-strike end with Virat Kohli on strike. Kohli had hit the ball on long on towards Kieron Pollard and then Pollard decided to throw a ball a little away from him to tempt Dhoni-Kohli for the second run. However, Dhoni showed him who the real boss is? They ran and completed the 2nd run successfully.
3) Dhoni’s No look run out to Mushfiqur Rahman
Dhoni upgraded his wicket-keeping skills and showcased this against Bangladesh. Mushfiqur Rahim hit the ball towards 3rd man and was coming back for a second run. Mushfiqur Rahim was a bit lazy while running as he saw Dhoni standing away from stumps with his back to collect the ball. However, Dhoni outplayed him and collected the ball to throw it from between his legs to run out Mushfiqur Rahman. That was a no-look run out by Dhoni to astonish everyone.
4) Is Dhoni the wicketkeeper or goalkeeper?
In an IPL match against Kings XI Punjab (Now Punjab Kings) and Dhoni was wicket-keeping for Rising Pune Super Giants. The batter played a late cut shot only to be blocked by Dhoni’s leg where he stretched his leg at almost 90 degrees. This save was more of a goal-keeper save rather than a wicket-keeper skill.
5) Laxmi Shukla & Ishant run out in IPL
In a CSK vs KKR, when Laxmi Shukla and Ishant were on the crease in the final over and Dhoni was keeping the wickets. Laxmi Shukla missed the ball and Ishant immediately tried to steal a run, however, Laxmi said no and Dhoni threw the ball towards the non-striker end. However, Dhoni instructed the bowler not to take the bails off and waited for the time till Shukla was out of the crease and then chipped the bails off. This instance was a clever move to take a batter’s wicket.
6) Deceiving Mitchell Marsh to run him out
India was playing against Australia when Mitchell Marsh had hit the ball towards cover which was chased by Umesh Yadav. Dhoni acted lazily and behaved as if there was a delay in the ball coming from the cover which made Mitchell Marsh run at a slow pace. But, Umesh Yadav had already released the ball and Dhoni successfully collected the ball to dismiss Mitchell Marsh with his clever moves. A pure laugh of joy was enjoyed by the spectators on the ground.
This instance depicts how comfortably MS Dhoni tricked the opposition in his international career. Tell us your favorite moment of Dhoni fooling the opposition with his clever moves.
Also read: Top 7 MS Dhoni moments from his international career.
