 "India celebrates after a stunning win over Bangladesh, by the narrowest margins. (Photo: Twitter, @ICC)")
There it was then. A desperate sprint and then a lunge from the twinkle-toed Mahendra Singh Dhoni that saved India. For a match that oscillated tantalisingly for more than three hours, it all came down to an amphetamine-crazed 10-metre dash to the stumps from the Indian captain.
Before the final ball, Dhoni was seen deep in conversation with Ashish Nehra and Virat Kohli – head down, his face partially obscured by his right glove. As he took his place behind the stumps a few moments later, Dhoni gently waved to a couple of fielders in the circle. In the end, they weren’t needed. Nobody was. Like countless times before, it was just him – the man who separates his side from victory and defeat. It just had to be him.
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As the giant screen at the Chinnaswamy Stadium displayed 'OUT', India had won a match they had no right to; not after Mushfiqur Rahim had flung Hardik Pandya for two boundaries in the first three balls of the final over. By then, the exit door had been well and truly unlatched. The bags were packed and the bus was waiting. It was time to go home. This was destined to end in calamity.
But then India held on to two skiers in the deep and left it to their talisman to win it. And as he does as a matter of habit, Dhoni did not disappoint.
Shuvagata Hom wildly swung at Pandya’s last ball, only to woefully miss and allow Dhoni to charge down and run Mustafizur Rahman out. For Indian fans, this run out will enjoy the kind of significance that Jonty Rhodes’ sensational run out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in 1992 does for South Africans – not as athletic or mind-numbing, but enormously important.
Ravichandran Ashwin was named man of the match, but it so easily could have been Dhoni. “He contributed just 13 with the bat, didn’t he?” most would ask. Yes, he did. But then he also removed two of Bangladesh’s key batsmen – Sabbir Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan – with two pieces of delightful glove work, the first a silent tutorial on presence of mind. His last over masterclass in dealing with pressure – nonchalant and unflappable – was a timely reminder of why he ranks as India’s most important cricketer of the last decade.
The hair may have greyed, the freckles more prominent, the hitting power dwindled, but Dhoni remains the adroit master at winning cricket matches. Defending just 146 on Wednesday night, his bowling changes were smart, the field placing spot-on.
He trusted Jasprit Bumrah with the crucial 19th over despite the 22-year-old being ruthlessly taken to the cleaners by Tamim Iqbal earlier in the piece. Bumrah rewarded his captain’s impeccable faith with an impeccable over, conceding just six. He brought on Ashwin when Bangladesh were threatening to run away with the game. A slip was put in for his best bowler. Al Hasan edged one first ball. Suresh Raina did the rest. That, in a lot of ways, was the game right there.
Bangladesh’s most experienced batsman had left after briefly threatening to send India crashing out. After that point, the game was India’s for the taking. Dhoni, even after all these years, is still incredibly adept at managing his resources and more importantly, getting the best out of his players; the combative leader whose brain functions at speeds his peers can’t even fathom.
But as we drown ourselves in the delirium of this win; it is easy to forget that India scraped past against a side that they should have beaten comfortably. The top-order failed again and the fielding, to much surprise, was appalling. Dhoni has three days to correct that before India face Australia in a match that is increasingly looking like a virtual quarter-final. For now, India can revel in a win that will live long in the memory. It is also easy to forget that it was Dhoni who pushed a reluctant Ashwin for the second run on the last ball of the Indian innings. India won the game by a solitary run. No one understands fine margins better than Dhoni, it seems.
