5 highly criticised on-field MS Dhoni decisions
Indian skipper MS Dhoni is known for his love for playing the odds. The way he gambles on-field is unlike any other skipper and his ability to take chances in such crucial situations sets him apart from the rest.
It began with the 2007 World T20 when Dhoni gave the last over to Joginder Sharma instead of an experienced player like Harbhajan Singh.
Dhoni, who prefers to go by his instincts more than logic, gave Joginder the opportunity to seal the match in favour of India, and he did it by ensuring an India win by 5 runs. If India would have failed that day, Dhoni’s instinctive decision making would have been under a lot of criticism.
He did it again in the 2011 World Cup finals when he promoted himself up the order, ahead of the in-form Yuvraj, even though he was having a poor form with the bat. This gamble was equally successful as the previous one and India lifted the World Cup after 28 years.
Unfortunately, all his left of field decision making didn’t go this well. Here are some of his on-field decisions that were criticised for:
#1 World Cup 2011 game against South Africa
Indian fans were glued to the screen as South Africa needed thirteen off the last over to win the match against India.
Indian fans held their breath as the left-arm medium pacer, Ashish Nehra was given the chance to bowl the 50th over at the VCA Stadium instead of Harbhajan Singh, but Indian fans and pundits had faith in Dhoni’s instincts, which are often right.
Well, things didn’t go that smooth. Robin Peterson hit two fours and a six made South Africa win the nail-biting match.
Indian fans were fuming and were in no mood to forgive the Men in Blue. They took over the internet to show their anger while some took to humour to rip apart Nehra.