Watch: MS Dhoni shows his improvisation skills

Watch: MS Dhoni shows his improvisation skills: While all the talk after the Kanpur ODI should have been about the two-century makers AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma, it was not to be. While young Kagiso Rabada shone to overnight fame it was MS Dhoni who was made the scapegoat for India’s close defeat. In a sense, it was rather unfortunate. MSD has won the country innumerable laurels and to blame him for the loss is immature.

He tried his best and let us give credit to Rabada who held his nerves brilliantly to help the visitors steal a thriller. Even in his short stay at the crease ‘Mahi’ did something unusual which is rather uncharacteristic of him.

How many times have we seen him playing a paddle-sweep against a pacer? You will struggle to remember even one such instance. And it was not as if Dhoni played it out of wish in the 1^st ODI. It was the pressure of the runs and the field set by South Africa that dictated the shot.

Dale Steyn ran in with full vigour and delivered the ball to the stumps as Dhoni shuffled premeditatedly. Considering the fine leg was wide he just helped the delivery with a little dab as it raced to the boundary.

This was not the Dhoni we all know. With 18 runs to win off 9 balls, the Dhoni of old would have found a way to hit a gigantic six to lead India to a thrilling victory. He would not have bothered with subtle paddle sweeps and would have backed his big hitting abilities and gone down the ground.

Dhoni is a master at manipulating the ball to his liking. He knows where the fielders are, and can more often than not place the ball right where he wants to. This shot was a classic representation of those skills.

Watch: MS Dhoni shows his improvisation skills:

MSD pulls off an ABD. Against Dale Steyn. 1st @Paytm ODI #INDvsSAhttps://t.co/eCTJCqZj0q

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 11, 2015