Don't know what Mahi bhai was thinking: Shardul recalls Dhoni's act of genius in IPL final

Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is regarded as one of the best captains to have ever played cricket due to his exceptional game awareness and ingenious on-field strategies. Although Dhoni's international career is over, he continues to serve as the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). CSK was founded in 2008, and the 40-year-old has been in charge of it since then. Dhoni has contributed to CSK's record-breaking four IPL championships and its rise to one of the competition's most successful sides.

Shardul reveals Dhoni's masterstroke

CSK won its fourth IPL title in 2021 after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 27 runs in the final in Dubai. Dhoni's former teammate Shardul Thakur has revealed how the Ranchi-born cricketer's decision-making helped CSK beat Kolkata in the final of the competition. Shardul recalled how Dhoni set the field in the 11th over which helped him break the partnership between Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer and pick two back-to-back wickets for the team. 

Shardik dismissed Iyer and Nitish Rana in the same over, which helped CSK gain momentum. After the 91-run partnership between Gill and Iyer was broken by Shardul, KKR started losing wickets at regular intervals, which eventually saw CSK restrict the Eoin Morgan-led side to 165/9 in 20 overs in their chase of 192 runs. Only two other players in the KKR lineup were able to reach the two-digit mark apart from Gill and Iyer, who scored 51 and 50 runs, respectively. 

"I don't know what Mahi bhai was thinking, he just sent Bravo to long-off, signalling him to go back. He asked me what I wanted to bowl. I said, you tell me, I am comfortable with whatever you ask me to do. He told to keep mid-off in the circle. Venkatesh Iyer got the very next ball out, then Nitish Rana got out and we suddenly got the momentum from there. Yes, I bowled well, but again the greatness of the man, to think in such a tense situation also he brought some kind of reasoning and result," Shardul said. 

CSK vs KKR, IPL 2021 Final

Batting first, CSK smashed 192/3 in 20 overs courtesy of power-packed batting from Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, and Moeen Ali. Faf du Plessis top-scored for CSK with 86 off 59 balls. Uthappa hit 31 runs off just 15 balls with a strike rate of 206.67. Moeen Ali remained not out at 20-ball 37 runs. CSK then restricted KKR to 165 runs, thus winning the game by 27 runs. Shardul picked three wickets, while Josh Hazlewood and Ravindra Jadeja each picked two wickets to their names. Du Plessis was named the player of the match for his outstanding knock with the bat. 

Image: IPL/BCCI