In yet another IPL thriller, the Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by three runs. The victory wasn’t easy as CSK skipper MS Dhoni was standing till the last ball and there is no bowler in the world who can confidently claim that he will manage to defend five run on the last ball if Dhoni is on strike.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson and bowler Sandeep Sharma went through the same ordeal during the match as 5 runs were needed on the last ball and it was none other than MS Dhoni on strike. Sandeep Sharma somehow managed to save the day, but both players were visibly under tremendous pressure.
In a post-match interaction with Sanjay Manjrekar, Samson accepted that he never thought the game was in the pocket as “that guy” was standing on the crease. Samson referred to Dhoni as “that guy” during the whole interaction as a mark of respect for the cricket legend.
“No sir, never when you have that guy (MS Dhoni) in the middle,” he told Manjrekar. “You have to respect that guy and know what he can do in the middle. Everyone was involved and the match is not over till the last ball. I do a lot of planning, research, and sit down with the data team but a lot of calls have to be taken inside the ground looking at who is bowling well at what point. I only played two balls but I’m drained as if I have scored a hundred. A lot of thoughts are going around,” Samson added.
When Manjrekar asked if the team had any numbers in mind on which they planned to stop Dhoni, the RR skipper couldn’t hide his appreciation for the legendary player.
“What data do you have on that guy you have just mentioned?” Manjrekar asked. “Nothing. Nothing works, no date, nothing,” said Samson.
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