Lucky retrieve for MS Dhoni last night

The 2nd ODI in Kandy saw Sri Lanka fight back for the first time in the series. Defending 231 off 47 overs, the hosts had the Indians in all sorts of trouble when Akila Dananjaya’s crafty spell of 6/54 left them reeling at 131 for 7. It took the experience of Dhoni and a calm knock by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take India home in a tense chase.

Eventually, India knocked the target off with 16 balls to spare and 3 wickets intact but it looked a lot closer than what the final scorecard suggests. At 131 for 7, the visitors were down and out before Dhoni slowly started rebuilding the innings, much like what he has done in his career when India have had their backs to the wall. In the end, the former skipper remained unbeaten on 45 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar remained unbowed on 54 in an 8th wicket partnership of 100, the highest ever recorded in an ODI played in Sri Lanka.

Dhoni survives, Sri Lanka rumble

Luck has a big part to play in such tight games and fortunately for India, Dhoni benefitted from a fortuitous event. In the 35th over, Vishwa Fernando bowled a back of a length delivery on the third ball of the over. Dhoni, looking for the singles, moved around the crease to play a dab shot down to fine leg missed the ball altogether which hit his thigh and rolled back at the stumps. Except the bails didn’t budge. It was a rare occurrence and couldn’t have happened at a better time for India. If Dhoni had fallen at that point, with the score at 172 for 7, Sri Lanka were more than likely to win it from there.

That’s Dhoni power…Didn’t let the bails fall 🙂 #IndvsSL @Micromax_Mobile @BCCI @lady_gabbar pic.twitter.com/RDKRFJEwpd

— KB (@kbhardwaj87) August 24, 2017

Vintage Dhoni

Dhoni produced a master class, remaining abstemious during the entire chase. He instilled confidence in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and let him take charge once he started moving his feet well. That is Dhoni for you, he doesn’t want the limelight all the time and is more than prepared to play second fiddle even to someone who is not known much for his batting.