An ever-present in the Indian Premier League since its first season in 2008, MS Dhoni is still going strong with the Chennai Super Kings at the age of 41. Although he has gone down in the batting order and only features, if at all, in the final couple of overs of most innings, he is still a force to be reckoned with on the field.
As a wicket-keeper, he still boasts a pair of the fastest hands around, effecting numerous dismissals from behind the wicket much quicker than some of his younger colleagues. However, one of his biggest assets on the field is his lightning-quick mind, which he has displayed on several occasions. From innovative changes to near-faultless DRS reviews, Dhoni’s quick thinking has been a talking point for several years, and it is on display once again in this edition of the IPL.
One of the latest examples of this happened on Friday, April 21, when Chennai Super Kings hosted Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chepauk Stadium. A video posted on Twitter shows Dhoni making one of trademark fielding changes that looks innocuous at first glance but resulting in a wicket almost immediately after.
Rutu was not in the frame before the ball, MS brought him there and bang next ball Brook fall into the trap. Dhoni's ball knowledge is unreal man ??. @MSDhoni #MSD pic.twitter.com/jrSJZuGz71
— ????? (@Vidyadhar_R) April 22, 2023
Batting first, Sunrisers Hyderabad had gotten off to a promising start, with openers Abhishek Sharma and Harry Brook having scored 34 off the first four overs. On the second ball of the fifth over, bowled by left-arm pacer Akash Singh, Dhoni is seen moving Ruturaj Gaikwad from somewhere near the covers to a position between backward point and short third man. In the video, it can clearly be seen that Gaikwad was not even in the frame for the ball before, and that Dhoni clearly had something in mind.
The decision reaped dividends immediately, as Akash bowled the perfect ball slightly outside the off stump, and Brook guided the ball straight into the hands of the recently-moved Gaikwad and lost his wicket in the process. Gaikwad would end up receiving the ‘Catch of the Match’ award for that piece of play.
After the match, which Chennai ended up winning by seven wickets, Ravindra Jadeja, in a casual chat with bowling coach Dwayne Bravo, revealed that the dismissal of Brook was what brought CSK back into the match. He explained that the spinners came into play after Brook’s dismissal, and took plenty of wickets.
