I remember bowling to MS Dhoni in the nets, it didn't look like he could bat: Anrich Nortje

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni is renowned as one of the most successful wicketkeeper-batsman and finisher of all times. South Africa’s decorated right-arm seamer Anrich Nortje revealed an amusing incident from his first interaction with the former Indian skipper. The 2010 edition of the Champions League was hosted in South Africa.

Chennai Super Kings, who were a part of the competition, called Nortje to bowl in the nets. Nortje, who was a  teenager back then, didn’t know any of the faces against whom he was bowling but he did recognize Dhoni. However, the seamer was bewildered seeing Dhoni’s batting technique and thought that he didn’t know how to bat.

Nortje revealed that while bowling to MS, he felt that the batsman wasn’t interested in the session. Also, MS wasn’t using his feet and was just hitting while standing at the same spot. “I remember bowling to MS in the nets there, didn’t look like he wanted to be there, didn’t look like he could bat, to be honest. 

“But I didn’t realize it was him. He was hitting a couple of balls almost standing still not using any feet as he does (chuckles). I actually think that everyone was trying to block everything… they were just trying to get his eye in at the start I think,” Anrich Nortje told on the Grade Cricketer’s YouTube channel.

I rather take a one-for and win the game than take five-for and lose: Anrich Nortje

Further in the interaction, Nortje also spoke about his brilliant performance against Pakistan in a Test fixture earlier this year. Playing in Rawalpindi, Nortje caused havoc on the field as he took five wickets while conceding just 56 runs. However, South Africa failed to benefit from the performance of Nortje as they lost the match by 95 runs.

Speaking about his outstanding performance, Nortje asserted that though it was a standout moment, he couldn’t feel happy due to the team’s loss. “Yeah that’s true but, I mean, at the end of you want to win. At the moment, maybe there’s a good feeling about it but when you look back at it you still want to win. 

“I rather take a one-for and win the game than rather take a five-for [and lose]. But yeah, there’s been certain moments that stood out in the season, and doing it in Pakistan was one of them,” added Nortje.