Although renowned singer-actor Hardavinder Singh Sandhu (popular as Harrdy Sandhu) could not make it to India’s Under-19 World Cup 2006 squad, he did reveal in a recent podcast interaction with Raj Shamani about an unforgettable experience of bowling to former India captain MS Dhoni.
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As per Sandhu, his face-off with Dhoni had taken place after the latter’s successful Kenya tour with India A in 2004. Having clashed during the JP Atray All-India Memorial Tournament in Punjab, it is to be noted that it is arguably the most renowned and long-standing cricket competition in the whole of North India, acclaimed as one of the best organized events enticing players from all over the country.
While he didn’t disclose the teams they were representing, Sandhu did reveal how he was the lone bowler of his team who had personally escaped from the belt treatment handed out by Dhoni during the match.
After MS Dhoni Left Him Stunned With Cracking Four, Harrdy Sandhu Was Slack-Jawed Witnessing His Out-Of-Stadium Six To Score 100
Speaking to Youtuber Raj Shamani a few days ago, Sandhu stated how he was nearly immaculate with his length while bowling to Dhoni during the aforementioned match. However, all it took for him was to err on one particular delivery, to which the wicket-keeper batter latched on to and smashed a ferocious square-cut.
“He was all over us and had scored 119 runs off 70 deliveries during the innings. But he hit only a single four against me. I was a fast bowler. I still remember how I wasn’t offering him any room to allow him open up his arms and hit me. However, I did so on one particular delivery. He is so strong, he hit the shot ferociously, the ball hit the ground and went over the fielder at cover-point. He must have hit at least 9-10 sixes during the match. I was the only one who didn’t get hit.”
Recounting another incident from the match, the former Punjab pacer disclosed how seemingly easily Dhoni had brought up his century by hitting a six after being persuaded by their wicket-keeper.
“I still remember [when] he was batting on 96*, I was fielding at short fine leg. So our wicket-keeper started asking him to hit a six and complete his century. And he was like, ‘No, I’ll take my time. No worries’. The very next ball he smashed the ball out of the ground for a six to bring up his century! He has always been that calm right since the beginning.”
MS Dhoni Hit Sixes To Register Centuries For India Thrice
A big-hitter known for last-ball sixes and sealing run-chases by hitting maximums, three out of Dhoni’s 16 international centuries across formats had come via a six. A couple of them, against Australia (2009) and Pakistan (2012), had arrived in the ODI format, while the one against Sri Lanka (2009) was brought up in a Test match.
Scoring 124 (107) against the Aussies in Nagpur, Dhoni’s innings had helped India post 354/7 on the board. Batting on 96*, the legendary captain had brought up his century by hitting a six off Shane Watson.
During the first ODI of Pakistan’s tour of India 2012 in Chennai, Dhoni had single-handedly taken India’s total to 227/6 after scoring a blistering 113* (125). Batting on 96* again, he had completed a determined century with a six off pacer Mohammad Irfan.
Posting a mammoth total of 726/9 in the first innings of the third Test against Sri Lanka at Brabourne Stadium, Dhoni had hit a six off spinner Rangana Herath to bring up his century off 154 deliveries. Post hitting the maximum over long-on he had declared the Indian innings right away.
On another similar note, the right-handed batter had remained not out in 68 innings across all the three formats in his international career during successful run-chases. A total of 13 times out of these innings, he had won the match by hitting a six.
Some of the notable ones in the list include the 2011 World Cup-winning six, another against Sri Lanka during the Tri-Nation Final in West Indies a decade ago and the one in Asia Cup 2016 final against Bangladesh.
