Dhoni's double delight, and Sreesanth's relief
Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the second Test between India and Australia in Bangalore
Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium
12-Oct-2010
"I was right in sending you back," are presumably MS Dhoni's words • AFP
The call
When Sachin Tendulkar is on 199, and he calls you for a sharp single, you just put your head down and run. If you refuse the run, you must be a brave man, pretty convinced in your judgement, and preferably the captain of your side. That's what MS Dhoni did when Tendulkar called for a single that didn't exist. The call was clear and loud, and Tendulkar made it back in time. It helps that Dhoni was at the non-striker's end when Tendulkar completed his ODI double-century too. It has to be some kind of a distinction.
When Sachin Tendulkar is on 199, and he calls you for a sharp single, you just put your head down and run. If you refuse the run, you must be a brave man, pretty convinced in your judgement, and preferably the captain of your side. That's what MS Dhoni did when Tendulkar called for a single that didn't exist. The call was clear and loud, and Tendulkar made it back in time. It helps that Dhoni was at the non-striker's end when Tendulkar completed his ODI double-century too. It has to be some kind of a distinction.
The slower-than-slowest bouncer
We would have thought that Peter George wouldn't be able to bowl bouncers slower than he did to Tendulkar on day three, but we were obviously wrong. He just happened to drag another slower one too short, and it looped slow and wide. Dhoni thought he would let it go but, having strolled to square leg or nearabouts, saw the ball was still there, tried to swat at it and missed. The laughs.
We would have thought that Peter George wouldn't be able to bowl bouncers slower than he did to Tendulkar on day three, but we were obviously wrong. He just happened to drag another slower one too short, and it looped slow and wide. Dhoni thought he would let it go but, having strolled to square leg or nearabouts, saw the ball was still there, tried to swat at it and missed. The laughs.
And it was not some mistake from George. Far from it. "I actually told few of the guys about it night before to look for that," George said of the one he bowled to Tendulkar. "I thought I might actually get a leg before with that one!"
The collision
When Tim Paine glanced Harbhajan Singh down to fine leg in the 50th over of the Australian innings, both Paine and Ricky Ponting were a bit too conscious of avoiding running on the danger area. The problem was, both thought in the same manner and ball-watched. As a result, they collided with each other on the adjacent pitch. Neither man was hurt, though.
When Tim Paine glanced Harbhajan Singh down to fine leg in the 50th over of the Australian innings, both Paine and Ricky Ponting were a bit too conscious of avoiding running on the danger area. The problem was, both thought in the same manner and ball-watched. As a result, they collided with each other on the adjacent pitch. Neither man was hurt, though.
The wicket
It wasn't just that Sreesanth had finally grabbed a wicket when he got Tim Paine to edge one through to MS Dhoni, but it was also the people involved. In the first innings, Sreesanth had come awfully close to getting the same man out, caught by the same man, only to be denied by a late no-ball call by the same umpire, Ian Gould. Sreesanth was just relieved that nobody was asking the batsman to wait. It must have been a big wicket, for Harbhajan then hugged Sreesanth.
It wasn't just that Sreesanth had finally grabbed a wicket when he got Tim Paine to edge one through to MS Dhoni, but it was also the people involved. In the first innings, Sreesanth had come awfully close to getting the same man out, caught by the same man, only to be denied by a late no-ball call by the same umpire, Ian Gould. Sreesanth was just relieved that nobody was asking the batsman to wait. It must have been a big wicket, for Harbhajan then hugged Sreesanth.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at Cricinfo