Mike Hussey recalls MS Dhoni's dismissal off Rashid Khan during the 2018 IPL Qualifier

Michael Hussey has revealed how Mahendra Singh Dhoni was done by a wrong 'un from star Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan during the IPL 2018 Qualifier 1 between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Chasing a modest total of 140 for a place in the final, CSK looked in all sorts of trouble after losing four early wickets including that of the skipper MS Dhoni. However, a stellar knock from Faf du Plessis helped the three-time winners to get past the finish line. 

Michael Hussey recalls MS Dhoni's dismissal

“The night before the qualifying final against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he (the analyst) sent me this split-screen of Rashid Khan. When he (Rashid) runs into bowl, when he bowls his leg-spinner, he holds his finger wide as he is running in, and when he bowls a wrong ‘un with fingers like this,” said  the CSK batting coach on Lessons Learnt with the Greats podcast.

“And I thought ‘Woah, this is good, but I am not sure if I should be throwing this out to the batsmen the night before this massive qualifying final’. So, I am sitting on this information, and I am going back and forth Should I, should I not, would I want it?

“And I said to myself – If we play this game tomorrow and lose, and Rashid Khan goes really well, and I have sat on this info and I haven’t sent it out, I am not gonna forgive myself. So, I decided to send it out to all the batsmen. But I did make sure I wrote: ‘You may want to use this, you may not. It is just here for your information. If you want anything, go for it, if not,", the former Australian middle-order batsman added.

However, the southpaw also mentioned that there was no reply from Dhoni which is generally normal (during the interactive session before the match) but when CSK had lost early wickets to find themselves in a spot of bother during the run-chase and the skipper himself was walking out to the middle, everyone was still thinking that they have got a chance to win.  

But it was just a matter of time before Mahi walked back to the dugout after being castled by the young Afghan leg-spinner for just 9 runs. Mike then revealed what Dhoni had told him when he had come back to the dugout after being dismissed.

“Rashid Khan comes on to bowl, one of the very first balls MS Dhoni faces, goes for the big cover drive. A wrong ‘un, bowled through the gate and I’m thinking Oh, gosh. Okay, no worries And MS walks straight off the field, and I am sitting in the dugout and he walks straight up to me and says I will bat my own way, thanks! and sits back down".

“As a coach, I thought my days are over forever! But, to MS’s credit, after the game, he was absolutely fantastic. He came up and spoke to me and we had a good chat. He said that the information was correct, but for him, he needed time to go away and process it and practice it". “What he did in the game was, he thought he saw it was going to be a leg-spinner, played a shot, didn’t bother watching the bowl, and obviously he was done through the gate with the wrong ‘un. He said ‘If I had got time in the nets, have a look at the hand as he was running into bowl, then still watch the ball then I would have time to build it into the routine. And it would have been very beneficial", the 2007 World Cup winner added. 

READ: Cheteshwar Pujara Reveals How He Had Made The Aussie Bowlers Toil In The 2017 Ranchi Test