5 occasions when MS Dhoni failed to finish a run chase
The biggest difference between human beings and god is that the former can make errors while the latter is perfect. Thus, no matter how good you are at doing something, there will be a time when failure, disappointment and loss will become your partners. MS Dhoni, for instance, is possibly the greatest chaser India has ever produced in limited overs cricket including both T20Is and ODIs. Just to give you an insight into the man’s abilities, Dhoni has a batting average of 105+ in 86 ODIs, which India have won while chasing over the years.
While no one can ever forget the countless times MSD has finished off run chases with boundaries, there have been occasions on which it was proved that he is human as well. Dhoni, more often than not, has taken the mantle of chasing a total down on his shoulders and succeeded. However, there have been instances when even the great Dhoni has not been able to finish off a run chase. We take a look at five such occasions when the chase defeated Dhoni than vice versa:
1) India vs West Indies – 1st T20I, August 27th, 2016 (West Indies won by 1 run)
West Indian openers Evin Lewis (Chris Gayle’s replacement) and Johnson Charles caused havoc by putting on a 126-run stand in under 10 overs after MS Dhoni had put them into bat. Courtesy the former's 49-ball knock of 100, the Islanders posted a mammoth total of 245, which looked like insurmountable. However, Rohit Sharma (62 from 28 balls) and KL Rahul (110 not out from 51 balls) brought India within grasping reach of victory.
Dhoni came to bat in the 12th over and was his usual self, starting off with singles and settling in while giving the strike to the set batsman (Rahul). A superb penultimate over, in which India made 16 runs, brought the ocassion down to 8 runs from the last six balls and all that stood between the Men in Blue and a win was Dwayne Bravo. Dhoni, who was on strike, got a huge reprieve when Marlon Samuels dropped a sitter on the first ball.
However, consecutive singles of the next three balls and a double on the fifth took the game to the last delivery with India needing two runs and Dhoni on strike. While most thought Dhoni would go for the boundary, he, knowing Bravo would bowl a change of pace delivery, took the safe route but ended up edging the ball to Samuels, who was waiting for redemption and gobbled it up like a hungry bear to give his team a 1-run win and break Indian hearts.