Ex-India Players Credit MS Dhoni For This Genius Tactic During 2013 Champions Trophy

Many fans and former players could not believe it when they saw England’s Jonathan Trott getting dismissed in the same way against India as their former captain, MS Dhoni, anticipated during the 2013 Champions Trophy.

The Blue Brigade faced England during the final of the campaign at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Ongoing rain interruptions curtailed the encounter to a 20-over affair, as both the in-form sides met each other before the loud cheering fans.

India's classical bowling against England in 2013 Champions Trophy final

The blue brigade didn’t enjoy a great start in the encounter, as they lost in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan in the fourth over. Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik went back to the hut on successive occasions. Virat Kohli smashed 43 runs in 34 deliveries at a strike rate of 126.47, while Ravindra Jadeja drilled an unbeaten 33 runs in 25 balls to push them to 129/7 in the allotted 20 overs.

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The Alastair Cook-led side had a very tough start in the first nine overs, losing four wickets for just 46 runs on the board. However, the two knocks from Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara inspired them to the chase. But the incredible 18th over from Ishant Sharma brought the visitors back into the contest as they gained a five-run victory to lift the title.

Ravichandran Ashwin examines MS Dhoni’s outstanding wicket-keeping tactics

The former Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, contributed massively in the contest with figures of 2/15 in four overs, thanks to a maiden. One of those two wickets was of Jonathan Trott, who Ashwin bowled from round the wicket.

Trott used his feet and looked to time the ball into the leg side. But once he missed the delivery, Dhoni was prepared to find him short of the crease for 20 overs. The Tamil Nadu spinner still can’t figure out Dhoni’s excellence in the stumping.

“I still remember Mahi bhai came up to me and said, ‘Don’t bowl over the stumps to Trott; bowl from around the wicket. He’ll try to play on the leg side, and if the ball spins, he’ll get stumped.’ I still can’t believe how he predicted that.” Ashwin expressed this during a recent special episode of JioHotstar’s Unbeaten: Dhoni’s Dynamites.

Ex-India openers lauds MS Dhoni’s calmness under pressure

The former wicket-keeper batter from Tamil Nadu, Dinesh Karthik, felt that Dhoni’s immense skill to make crucial decisions under pressure, as he has often done in his entire career.

“This was our chance to show what cricket meant to Team India. We were resilient, we fought back, and we had the mindset to never give up. England were cruising; they were almost there and could have easily crossed the line. But Dhoni made some brilliant tactical moves, and the bowlers backed him up.” Karthik addressed.

The renowned commentator and former Indian opening batter, Aakash Chopra, emphasized that the entire event was a testament to Dhoni’s superb skill of captaincy.

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“This was his tournament through and through. It had Dhoni written all over it. He had almost crafted this team in his image and engineered victory after victory. That was a story written by the heavens.” Chopra added.

The former Delhi opener also highlighted the belief he showed in Ishant to throw the old ball despite his expensive returns in the powerplay.

“That turned out to be the most magical thing Ishant has done in his life. He changed up the pace and took two crucial wickets back-to-back. That’s when you realize Dhoni has the Midas touch – whatever he touches turns to gold.” Aakash Chopra concluded.