Despite being smacked for two sixes by CSK captain MS Dhoni in the penultimate over, Rajasthan Royals seamer Sandeep Sharma never gave up.
No matter the score, when MS Dhon comes to the crease in the final over, the emphasis is on the bowler to keep the score down. In their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals, Dhoni and Sandeep Sharma faced off, with the pacer ultimately coming out on top. Sandeep’s over was struck for two sixes, but he still contributed to RR’s 3-run victory. He discussed his heated exchange with CSK captain Dhoni after the game.
In the last over, Sandeep delivered several pinpoint yorkers, but Dhoni smashed the first one over the boundary for six. Sandeep’s confidence in his strategy was not shaken by the negative outcome of his first attempt at a Yorker. The seasoned sailor claimed that without Dhoni, they would not have been able to complete the first six.
I’ve been teaching him Yorkers, and he seems to be making good progress. I agree that the first ball that was hit for six was a difficult ball and that Mahi Bhai was the sole reason he was able to hit it. I think I executed well, but it’s wonderful to come out on top,” he remarked in an IPL video.
Spinners bowled quite well on a slow wicket. The fact that we had runs to defend in the last over is entirely due to you. So, I figured I’d ease into things with a slow bouncer, but that didn’t work out so well. That was a wide and one bouncer for the over, so I did not have a lot of other options,” he continued.
Dhoni hit Sandeep for two sixes, sending him from over the wicket to around it. He got the intended outcome with his final ball yorker, limiting the CSK captain to a single.
The following time around, I attempted a yorker, but it also went wide. I was still confident in my abilities, especially since I aimed to bowl to the larger side of the field. But after rolling two consecutive sixes, I knew I needed to adjust my approach. The RR fast bowler admitted, “For the last ball, I backed myself to bowl the yorker, I bowl it well in the nets.”
