Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known as ‘Captain Cool’ for a reason. Whatever the situation, he remains calm. But even the best lose their calm when it comes to high-voltage clashes in the Indian Premier League. It was Dhoni’s turn Saturday during IPL match with Kings XI Punjab.
With Kings XI Punjab needing 39 runs off 12 balls, Dhoni handed the ball to Deepak Chahar and the start was horrifying. Chahar bowled it full and above the waist and Sarfaraz Khan picked up four. The next one was another full toss above the waist but this time Sarfaraz only managed a couple. But with the match slipping out of CSK’s hands, Dhoni walked up to the bowler with Suresh Raina for company.
MS Dhoni schooling Deepak Chahar for his back to back no balls #CSKvKXIP #IPL2019 pic.twitter.com/iRhGQ62gib
— Deepak Verma (@dpakwa) April 6, 2019
It looked like Chahar had lost the plot and was scared of the responsibility of bowling in the death with the batsmen in full flow. But an animated chat from Dhoni saw Chahar come back strongly and even dismiss David Miller off the last ball of the over. A scolding from Dhoni saw Chahar come back on track and he finished the over giving away just 13 runs, after two free hits.
In the end, CSK won the game by 22 runs and Dhoni applauded Harbhajan Singh for keeping Chennai in the game even though it was much easier to bat in the second innings at Chepauk Saturday. Harbhajan finished with 2/17 from his four overs, including the prized scalp of Chris Gayle.