The tactical decision to send MS Dhoni to wield his blade at No.4 by skipper Rohit Sharma has paid rich dividends to India’s scorecard.
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For a long time now, MS Dhoni has played the role of the finisher in the Indian team, but with no current batsman ready enough to take up the number 4 spot.
MS Dhoni justified Rohit Sharma’s decision of promoting him to number 4 as he creamed the Lankan bowling attack all round the park. He scored a splendid 22-ball 39 with a flurry of 4 fours and a last ball six.
After India lost Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, MS Dhoni came in out to bat alongside KL Rahul as the scorecard read 101/2 at 12.4 overs.
Sri Lanka wanted to slow things down and so they brought back their productive spinner Akila Dananjaya into the attack in the 14th over.
MS Dhoni who was at the striker’s end shimmed down the track and flexed his muscles to smash Akila Dananjaya’s delivery with brute force.
The amount of force that MS Dhoni generated against the speed of the ball was so intense that it almost took out the non-striker, KL Rahul.
“He almost killed me with that shot,” KL Rahul who topped the charts with 61 runs told the reporters at the post-match press conference.
MS Dhoni’s superior knock was outstanding and he received countless plaudits from the fans, players and experts alike.
KL Rahul heaped praise on MS Dhoni for his terrific knock down the pecking order. MS Dhoni is still a match winner and he is someone the players look up to according to KL Rahul.
“He is in great shape. I don’t know what form you are talking about. Every time I have played with him or see him on TV, he scores runs.
The last time we played here, he got a big hundred. I see him as motivated in the dressing room as I always have.
He is contributing in every game, is someone we look up to. He is a match winner,” Rahul said.
