How MS Dhoni’s brainwave earned Shardul Thakur his maiden ODI wicket
After the on-field umpire had initially ruled Niroshan Dickwella not out on Thursday, MS Dhoni’s successful review helped Shardul Thakur in claiming the first wicket of his ODI career.
MS Dhoni on Thursday proved yet again why he’s a genius when it comes to getting the DRS (decision referral system) calls correct almost all time. From faint edges to lbw calls, MS Dhoni has the ability to guess them perfectly from behind the stumps and his brilliance benefitted the Indian cricket pacer Shardul Thakur on Thursday as he picked up his first ODI wicket thanks to the former skipper’s quick thinking. (SL v IND HIGHLIGHTS)
It was in the third over of the Sri Lanka innings and the hosts had started well scoring 22 off 15 deliveries while chasing the mammoth 376-run target set by India. Shardul Thakur, who was making his limited over debut, bowled one on the leg-stump and as Niroshan Dickwella attempted to flick the delivery, MS Dhoni appealed for a caught behind. The ball didn’t seem to have deviated much and the fielders were also not excited about the appeal. Umpire Raveendra Wimalasari, thus, didn’t entertain it and instead signalled a wide.
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MS Dhoni immediately gestured to skipper Virat Kohli that he had heard a noise while collecting the ball on to his gloves. The review was taken and the decision had to be reversed. It was Dhoni’s 300th ODI while it was a maiden wicket for Shardul Thakur who’s bound to remember it for a long time to come.
That started a downhill ride for the islanders who were bundled for a paltry 207. The 168-run defeat margin is now the highest Sri Lanka have faced at home, going past the 149 India had set back in 2009 at the same venue.
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Earlier, Dhoni had scored an unbeaten 49 to steer India to the tall total pairing up with Manish Pandey towards the tail-end of the innings. It was the 73rd instance of Dhoni remaining unbeaten as he went past former Sri Lanka bowler Chaminda Vaas and South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock (72 occasions each).
