Is MS Dhoni Quinton de Kock's inspiration for 'Cheeky Runout'? Fans recall 2016 magic

South Africa defeated Pakistan by 17 runs in a tense finish at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, April 4. Despite South Africa’s series-levelling win, visiting opener Fakhar Zaman’s ton and his eventual departure became the talking points from the entertaining evening. In a display of some brilliant game awareness, the hosts’ wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock affected a run-out of the centurion off the final over of the match.

Fakhar Zaman 193 in vain as South Africa level series

Quinton de Kock run out compared with MS Dhoni’s 2016 bit by fans

Fakhar Zaman’s innings came to an anti-climactic end when he was caught napping in the final over of the match. As the left-handed Pakistani opener was nearing his double century, he struck the ball towards the long off region and took off for a couple. However, South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock fooled Zaman into thinking that the throw was coming at the bowler’s end, only for the batsman to slow down and end up falling short off his own crease.

The smart Quinton de Kock run out of Fakhar Zaman reminded many fans of a similar bit of MS Dhoni from the past. In 2016, the Indian legend did the same to Australia’s Mitchell Marsh. MS Dhoni’s calm and composing action behind the stumps fooled Marsh into thinking that Umesh Yadav’s throw was directed at Glenn Maxwell’s end, only to find himself a few inches short of the crease.

Several fans who witnessed the South Africa vs Pakistan thriller compared Quinton de Kock’s game-changing move with MS Dhoni’s magic from 2016. Apparently, a few are even of the opinion that the legendary Indian wicketkeeper-batsman served as an inspiration for the dynamic South African cricketer. Here is a look at MS Dhoni’s 2016 bit as well as some of the fans comparing it with Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal.

ICC hails Fakhar Zaman 193 against South Africa

South Africa vs Pakistan 3rd ODI updates

The South Africa vs Pakistan three-match ODI series will now conclude with the series-decider on Wednesday, April 7. The match is scheduled to be played at Centurion Park. The action is slated to commence from 1:30 PM IST onwards.

MS Dhoni to lead CSK squad in IPL 2021

MS Dhoni is slated to represent and lead the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL 2021) season. They will play their first match against the Delhi Capitals on April 10. Here is a look at the entire CSK squad for this year.

MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Lungi Ngidi, Ambati Rayudu, Narayan Jagadeeshan, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Cheteshwar Pujara, Krishnappa Gowtham, C Hari Nishanth, Bhagath Varma and Harishankar Reddy.

Image source: ICC Twitter