Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes MS Dhoni’s ability to control his emotions in critical times him from the competition.
He emphasised how the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain stayed cool even when the team required four runs off the final ball in Monday’s (May 29) IPL 2023 final against Gujarat Titans (GT).
Butt also recalled Dhoni’s calm composure after running out Mustafizur Rahman to assist India to clinch a dramatic one-run victory against Bangladesh in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained:
“When we talk about MS Dhoni, there was a World Cup match between India and Bangladesh a few years ago that went down all the way to the last ball. Hardik Pandya was bowling, and when he was running in, Dhoni had removed one glove and tucked it in his trousers. The plan was to bowl it outside the off stump, as the batter didn’t have a long reach. He collected the ball and sprinted towards the stumps.
“He beat the batter with his sprint and ran him out. After that when the whole team was jumping in the air, he stood there calmly. We saw something similar in the IPL final as well. Everyone was nervous ahead of the last ball. There was only one guy who was sitting silently. It is not like he doesn’t have any feelings but he is capable of controlling his emotions.”
CSK needed 10 runs off the final two balls to defeat GT in the top battle. Ravindra Jadeja displayed incredible poise under pressure, striking a six and four off Mohit Sharma’s bowling to lead his team to a great victory.
Chennai chased down the amended target of 171 in the rain-soaked match, completing a remarkable five-wicket win (through the DLS method) to claim the trophy.
“The turning point of the match” – Salman Butt on MS Dhoni sending back Shubman Gill with his quick glovework
Salman Butt went on to say that MS Dhoni’s keeping in the IPL 2023 final was crucial, inflicting a superb stumping to dismiss the in-form Shubman Gill. He highlighted that Chennai’s fielding was shoddy throughout the game, with Gill losing two lifelines due to dropped catches.
The former cricketer emphasised that it was Dhoni’s lightning-fast stumping that swung the tide in his team’s favour, adding:
“The turning point of the match was Shubman Gill’s stumping. CSK powered their way back into the game, thanks to that stumping that took less than a second. That came at a time when the other players were struggling with fielding. Gill got two chances but it was the 41-year-old captain (MS Dhoni) who stumped him in a flash.”
Gill had 39 runs off 19 deliveries and threatened to take the game away from CSK. However, he was forced to go back in the seventh over of Gujarat’s innings as Dhoni removed the bails in 0.12 seconds to stump the opener.