Arguably the greatest cricketing tactician there ever has been, MS Dhoni is a name that has earned plenty of respect on the 22-yard strip as a captain. It isn't just his ability to get the best of players but also his understanding of game situations that made him the cricketer he went on to be. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Dhoni showed his brilliant captaincy acumen as he successfully plotted Narayan Jagadeesan's dismissal with teammate Tushar Deshpande.
It was the second ball of the second over, with Dhoni deciding to shuffle his field and place Ravindra Jadeja, unarguably his best fielder, at deep backward point. Jagadeesan went for a big hit and a thick outside edge saw the ball loop in the area where Jadeja was placed.
The all-rounder made a sprint before putting a dive to grab the catch, sending the KKR batter packing. After the dismissal, Deshpande immediately looked at Dhoni, crediting him for the plan he had devised. You can watch the video of the dismissal here...
As for the match, the Super Kings secured a comfortable 49-run win to go on top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 standings. Speaking of his team's performance after the match, Dhoni admitted that his complete bowling unit is doing a fine job at the moment.
"Fast bowlers are doing their job, so are spinners in the middle. The wicket was short on one side so we needed to get early wickets and keep the pressure. They have plenty of power hitters, so we had to give the respect to the opposition. I have a clear funda, if someone is injured he can't do anything. You just move on and motivate the youngsters to perform. We have been fortunate that all the guys coming in are performing," he said.
When asked about the revival of Rahane, the player of the match, Dhoni said: "We realise the potential of someone when we allow him to bat the way he bats. We give him the freedom, give him the best position. In a team environment, someone has to sacrifice his slot to allow the others to get more comfortable, and allow the team to succeed."