MS Dhoni loses cool in rare on-field incident
What's the story?
MS Dhoni, India's coolest head on the field, lashed out at his batting partner Manish Pandey in a rare show of anger on the field. During the final over of India's innings in the second T20 international against South Africa at Centurion yesterday, Dhoni threw down some expletives at Pandey, who was not quick enough to respond for the second run. The 36-year-old seemed to have told Pandey, “Oye b******ke, idhar dekh le. Udhar kya dekh raha hai (Listen, look here. What are you looking there for?)”.
In case you didn't know..
Having won the first match pretty comfortably, India had hosts South Africa in a must win situation in the second game. JP Duminy won the toss and inserted India citing helpful conditions for the bowlers with plenty of rain in the air. India were first stabilised by Pandey and Suresh Raina, while Dhoni joined the former in the eleventh over with India four down at 90.
Eventually, India ended on 188/4 courtesy of unbeaten fifties from both Pandey and Dhoni, a total which proved insufficient in the end, with South Africa chasing it down with six wickets and eight deliveries in hand following half-centuries from Heinrich Klaasen and Duminy.
The heart of the matter
Renowned for his cool on the field even in the most panicky of situations, Dhoni showed his angry side to the non-striker Pandey as India hunted for rapid runs in the dying stages of the game. In the first ball of the 20th over, Pandey swung his bat too hard for him to ultimately mistime it. While he was busy watching the ball and hence managed only a single, Dhoni seemed convinced that another run existed, which they could have completed relatively easily.
Dhoni's words were recorded on the stump mic, which have so often caught the calm wicket-keeper advising and guiding India's young spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal from behind the stumps.
What's next?
The three-match T20 series stands locked at 1-1 following the hosts' victory with the final match to be played at Cape Town on February 24, the last match of India's long tour.
Author's Take
The case remains a classic example of how even the most composed of persons can lose their heads in situations demanding extreme awareness and agility. Coming from someone as cool as like Dhoni, it appears as if there indeed was a possibility of an extra run there.