The fortune was on MS Dhoni’s side in the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka at Pallekele as he didn’t have to walk off even after a ball hit the stumps. While batting during the second innings of the match, a short delivery from Sri Lanka’s Vishwa Fernando struck Dhoni on the thigh pad and then, the ball rolled back towards the stumps.
The ball hit the stumps but surprisingly, the bails didn’t fall off and the batsman was allowed to live another day. It was at a crucial juncture of the game as Dhoni’s wicket could have given Sri Lanka the edge in the match but somehow, it wasn’t to be.
Here’s the video
https://twitter.com/Cricvids1/status/900772272859791360
Dhoni-Bhuvneshwar saw India through
While chasing a paltry 231 to win, India were cruising to the target when the opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma added 109 runs for the 1st wicket. But Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya ruffled the feathers of Indian batting line-up as he picked up 6 wickets in his spell to leave the opposition tottering at 131/7.
That’s when MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got together and steadied the ship. Slowly but steadily, the duo turned the game in India’s favor. In the 35th over, when Dhoni was batting on 29, the incident happened when he got a reprieve when the bails didn’t fall off.
The right-hander made use full use of the life and carried on batting until the end. The partnership for the 8th wicket added 100 runs to see India through as Bhuvneshwar scored 53 off 80 balls which was his maiden half-century in ODI cricket. MS Dhoni stayed unbeaten on 45 off 68 balls.
India won the match by 3 wickets with 16 balls to spare. It was a superlative effort by two of the calmest players you’ll ever find on a cricketing field. India now lead the 5 match series by a margin of 2-0 and need just one more win to seal the series.
