India vs England 2016/17: MS Dhoni keeps the promise he made to Virat Kohli

MS Dhoni played a huge role in helping Kohli get his maiden T20 win as a captain

What’s the story?

Shortly after stepping down from captaincy, MS Dhoni promised to guide captain Virat Kohli 'unofficially' as the vice-captain. And he stood by his words by just doing that; he guided Kohli in the last over of the second T20 against England at the VCA stadium, Nagpur. 

With only 24 runs needed from the last two overs, Kohli decided to man the long-on boundary and that is when Dhoni took over. With the senior bowler Ashish Nehra alongside, he plotted the win against the English with Bumrah being the man to bowl the last over. 

Kohli later quoted, "It's just that I am in charge of decisions now and he (Dhoni) will be giving his views. When Dhoni was in-charge, I have always shared my point of view and thoughts with him. Eventually, he has made those decisions. Sometimes it may immediately click and he makes those changes right away. Sometimes he still takes time to follow his instinct more and keep that as option B.

“As cricketers, we understand it is a pretty natural thing to have different perspectives about the game, about captaincy as well. His views will be priceless for me, as well. But I will have my preparation first and keeping his views in mind, maybe I will follow my instinct for a bit more (time) and then maybe switch to a different plan B from a different point of view.” 

In case you didn’t know...

After the end of the 18^th over, England needed 24 runs from 12 balls. With Nehra out to bowl the 19^th over, the first three deliveries cost India runs while the last three balls cost 12 runs, a total of 16 runs from the penultimate over. With pressure as high as ever, Kohli, with the help of his ex-captain Dhoni, settled the field for Bumrah to bowl to.

The Gujarati youngster conceded only 2 runs and picked up 2 wickets to deny Englishman the victory and help India level the three-match series 1-1.

The heart of the matter

Virat Kohli might be the captain, but at such crucial junctures, he does not take decisions without consulting Dhoni. He said that the wicketkeeper’s suggestions are ‘priceless’.      

The final over, which followed the penultimate over bowled by Nehra in which he gave away 16 runs, Dhoni took the charge and set the field with Bumrah on his toes to roar into action. The former skipper guided Kohli when there were only 8 runs needed in 6 balls and led the team to victory.

He played his role in the field positioning and helped Virat win his first T20 as a captain, thus fulfilling the promise he made.

What’s next?

With the last T20 at Bengaluru being the deciding one, there lies a belief that India will be motivated by the aggression from the skipper and guided by the instincts of the ex-skipper. With a balance of perfect temperament and encouragement, India will look to seal yet another series on 1^st of February in Bengaluru.

Sportskeeda take

We believe that MS Dhoni is doing a splendid job of imparting his experience into the mind of the young captain. With guidance, Virat will hopefully better the benchmarks set by his predecessor.