There is no denying to the fact that MS Dhoni is one of the best tacticians on the field. As a skipper, he awestruck the fans and opposition with his brilliant successful strategies. Sharing one of those master plans with the fans, Ashwin revealed how MS Dhoni helped him in dismissing Jonathan Trott during Champions Trophy final.
In an Instagram Live session with Suresh Raina, Ashwin recalled that dismissal and explained how smart MS Dhoni as a captain. He narrated saying that MS Dhoni had asked him to bowl from around the stump to Trott, who will look to knock the ball leg-side. The plan is that if a ball turns away from him, there is a good chance for a stumping.
I am still in shock – Ravichandran Ashwin
Surprisingly, it was the exact thing which happened in the middle when Ashwin got the ball to turn. Jonathan Trott tried to play on the leg side leaving the crease. Unfortunately, he failed to connect the ball and MS Dhoni did the rest. Ashwin added that he is still in shock how MS Dhoni got it right.
Trott got stumped off the first over that I bowled. I still remember Mahi bhai came up to me and said ‘Trott ko over the stump se mat daalna sirf round se daalna. Woh leg side mai khelne jaayega agar ball ghoomega to stumping ho jaayega’. Mujhe abhi bhi dimag mai nahi chal raha hai ki kaise bola waisa,” R Ashwin said.
Coming to the Champions Trophy 2013 final, it was a rain-curtailed 20-over affair at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Asked to bat first, India posted 129/7 on the board thanks to Virat Kohli’s 34-ball 43 and Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 25-ball 33.
Chasing a low tally on the board, it was expected that England will win the game pretty easily. But, the brilliant Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma bowled exceptionally to help India seal a thrilling victory. It was the last championship victory for India in ICC events.