How Sandeep Thought Through the Dhoni Storm

By Bharath Ramaraj

MS Dhoni walking back, after not being able to provide the finishing touches to a chase in front of a sea of yellow at the Chepauk Stadium, is a poignant moment to capture. Whether his team wins or loses, Dhoni’s demeanour doesn’t change. But it turned out to be a day of rollercoaster emotions for Chennai Super Kings fans. When Dhoni was smacking sixes in the last few overs, thousands and thousands of yellow flags were being waved in celebration. Just that with five needed off the last ball, Dhoni could collect only a single. Soon a wave of yellow flags was replaced by photos of dejected fans with their hands on the heads.

The bowler who stopped Dhoni from getting past the finishing line was another experienced cricketer, Sandeep Sharma. Although still 29, Sandeep has been around on the professional circuit for ages, and has gained enough experience of bowling at different phases of the innings. More than a decade ago, he had nailed some fine yorkers and very full deliveries in the slog while bowling to Australia Under-19’s batters in the World Cup final in Townsville. But on a Tuesday night, when CSK needed 7 off 3 balls, the challenge in front of him was 100x times more difficult.

Just imagine the scenario. A veteran with almost 550 internationals and 238 IPL matches under his belt is playing in front of his home crowd in franchise cricket. Even at the fag end of his career, he is expected to make impossible look possible. He also has the momentum on his side, having smacked Sandeep for two sixes. To make matters worse for Sandeep, he had begun the over by giving away a couple of wides. Many bowlers would have wilted under such severe pressure. Sandeep didn’t. So how did he stay calm and sane in such a situation? Did he make any slight changes to his gameplan? Let’s analyse further.

As Sandeep bowls with a front-on action, almost all his deliveries are speared into the right-handed batter. The obvious plan was for him to nail the yorkers at Dhoni’s heel, and force him to target the relatively longer boundary through the midwicket region. Unfortunately for Sandeep, he couldn’t initially find the sweet spot. Perhaps his action was even more round-arm and he released the ball too early. Sandeep was also bowling from wide of the crease. Whatever it was, four of the first five deliveries he bowled were sliding down the leg-side, with Dhoni connecting two of them for leg-side sixes.

The moment Sandeep was clubbed for the first of those sixes, Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals captain, jogged all the way to the other end to have a brief chat with him. The affable seamer duly rectified his line as he bowled a low full toss on middle stump, only for Dhoni to somehow get underneath and tonk it over the deep midwicket fence. The slow-motion camera once again shifted its focus on to Samson. The Royals’ skipper didn’t show any expression. As he slowly turned around, all he could see was the entire crowd erupting in joy. Not a single RR fan in sight. For a moment, once again envisage the kind of pressure Sandeep would have been under.

Soon, the small nuts and bolts of Sandeep’s strategy were changed. The new plan was for Sandeep to attempt yorkers from round the wicket, with the ball angling away from the right-handed Dhoni. Sandeep executed it to near-perfection with a length delivery bowled in the channel outside off. Meanwhile, Dhoni could add just a single to the side’s total. For the left-handed Jadeja, the modus operandi was to keep it outside off while bowling from over the wicket. Sandeep once again excelled by executing the plan, with Jadeja digging one out to the covers for a run.

All the ultra-motion cameras were now zoomed in on ‘Thala’ Dhoni. The question on everyone’s lips – What would be the final climax of yet another IPL suspense thriller? And the question was answered by Sandeep, who delivered a yorker that speared in on Dhoni’s right leg. Dhoni had little or no chance of cracking the big shot as Rajasthan sealed a three-run win. A mere glance at Sandeep’s body language showed the sense of satisfaction on his face as he raised his right arm.

“I wanted to deliver yorkers in the last over,” said Sandeep to the official broadcaster after the match. “I was bowling good yorkers in the nets. The leg-side was big, but I missed my mark and bowled a couple of low full tosses and both went for sixes. Then I changed my angle and it worked. I bowled over the wicket to Jadeja and I wanted to keep it away from his reach.”

Ravi Ashwin duly walked away with the Man of the Match award for returning noteworthy figures of 2 for 25 amidst dewy conditions. The unsung hero for RR though was Sandeep. His figures of 0 for 30 in three overs would suggest he had an average day. He gave away 17 runs in the last over. But scratch the surface and you will see his big-match temperament. He stopped Dhoni from completing another jailbreak, and silenced legions of CSK fans in their own den.