MS Dhoni had his own style of doing everything on the cricket field. Be it batting, wicket-keeping, captaincy, fielding or running between the wickets, there was a 'Dhoni' touch in every move of the legendary cricketer. Needless to say, his mannerisms became a part of his legacy. So much so that even a remote similarity takes the mind back to his glory days. That is exactly what happened to Nasser Hussain during a World Cup 2033 match between England and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
It took place during the 24th over of England's innings. Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan just missed his line and slid one down the leg side to Ben Stokes, who went for a reverse sweep but could not make any connection. The ball spun inwards and even foxed keeper Mohammad Rizwan. He tried to get his legs together to stop the ball but wasn't quick enough. The ball went through the gap between Rizwan's legs and raced away to the boundary.
Hussain, a former England captain, quickly spotted the similarities between Rizwan's movements and Dhoni's. "Rizwan tried a Dhoni by getting his legs together but failed (stop the ball)," he said during commentary.
Dhoni had a unique way of stopping balls that bounced in front of him. He used to get his feet together to stop the ball instead of trying to bend quickly and gather the ball with his gloves. His success rate with that technique was quite exceptional against both spinners and pacers.
England's star-studded batting line-up saved their best for the last as half-centuries by Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow powered the 2019 champions to 337 for 9. Premier all-rounder Stokes, who missed their first three matches owing to a hip injury, headlined their batting show in a 76-ball 84. Jonny Bairstow (59 off 61 balls) and Joe Root (60 off 72 balls) also made handsome contributions to bolster the total. Having scored 339/9 against the Netherlands in their last match, this was England's second successive 300-plus total.
{{/usCountry}}England's star-studded batting line-up saved their best for the last as half-centuries by Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow powered the 2019 champions to 337 for 9. Premier all-rounder Stokes, who missed their first three matches owing to a hip injury, headlined their batting show in a 76-ball 84. Jonny Bairstow (59 off 61 balls) and Joe Root (60 off 72 balls) also made handsome contributions to bolster the total. Having scored 339/9 against the Netherlands in their last match, this was England's second successive 300-plus total.
{{/usCountry}}England batters however failed to fire at the death as from being 240/2 in 40 overs they managed 97 runs in the last 10 overs, when they also lost seven wickets.
Haris Rauf returned with 3/64, while Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged 2/72 and denied Stokes a well-deserved century by cleaning up the left-hander with a reverse-swinging delivery that tailed in.