Indian wicket keeper-batsman MS Dhoni is revered as the finest wicket keeper of his era. When Dhoni had started playing cricket, the cricket fraternity only hailed him as a hard hitting batsman. And now, almost a decade and a half down the line, he is revered as the best in the business behind the stumps. In the ongoing ODI match against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town, MS Dhoni registered his 400th ODI dismissal.
Dhoni added yet another quick stumping to his illustrious shelf of dismissals. He stumped the opposition skipper Aiden Markram on 32 to reach the coveted milestone. The action perspired in the 17th over of the South African run chase. Aiden Markram and JP Duminy had started threatening to take the game away from the hands of the Indian side after the early dismissal of Hashim Amla. Duminy and Markram had steadied the ship with a 78-run stand for the second wicket.
In the 17th over of the match, when Kuldeep Yadav came in to bowl, Markram looked like he had done his homework about the bowler. Kuldeep tossed the ball up and Markram went ahead with the walk down the pitch. At first, he thought it would turn away, and later felt that the ball would come in.
Basically, the South African skipper had his bases covered to ensure that he plays the ball irrespective of which way the ball turns. However, he ended up missing the shot altogether. MS Dhoni, who is lightning fast behind the stumps, never needs a second invitation in such cases. He was quick to dislodge the stumps and had the stumping to his name.
Earlier in the game, the Indian team arrived in to the match riding on a 2-0 lead in the six match series. Batting first, India posted a mammoth total of 303/6 on the board in their stipulated 50 overs. The star of the innings was the Indian captain, Virat Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten 160 off 159 deliveries.
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If India wins this game, they will have an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the 6-match series. By the look of things, the way Indians are bowling and the way MS Dhoni is guiding the bowlers, this looks very much achievable. For now, the fans are drooling over the swagger of the former Indian captain and how he completed his 400 ODI dismissals.
