Former Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt was in awe of MS Dhoni’s calm and composed nature during the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad. He said that he was the only guy sitting silently and is capable of controlling his emotions.
Chennai Super Kings displayed a sensational brand of cricket as they thumped Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets in the final of IPL 2023 to win their 5th IPL title in the league. They now are on the same page with their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in terms of the most titles won in the tournament.
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During the over, the CSK dugout was full of tension and when they won the game, everyone erupted in joy as they ran towards the ground to celebrate. But skipper MS Dhoni was absolutely mum. Even when his side needed 4 runs off the last ball, he looked very calm.
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Salman Butt cited the example of MS Dhoni’s calm nature while running out Mustafizur Rahman during India’s 1-run win over Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup in 2016. He said that a similar thing was on offer during the IPL final. Speaking in a video posted on his youtube channel, he said:
“When we talk about MS Dhoni, there was a World Cup match between India and Bangladesh a few years ago that went down all the way to the last ball. Hardik Pandya was bowling, and when he was running in, Dhoni had removed one glove and tucked it in his trousers. The plan was to bowl it outside the off stump, as the batter didn’t have a long reach. He collected the ball and sprinted towards the stumps.
“He beat the batter with his sprint and ran him out. After that when the whole team was jumping in the air, he stood there calmly. We saw something similar in the IPL final as well. Everyone was nervous ahead of the last ball. There was only one guy who was sitting silently. It is not like he doesn’t have any feelings but he is capable of controlling his emotions.”
IPL Final: “The turning point of the match was Shubman Gill’s stumping,” Salman Butt credits MS Dhoni
Apart from his calm and composed nature, MS Dhoni pulled off an incredible stumping. He removed GT’s run machine Shubman Gill with an incredible lightning-quick stumping.
Salman Butt said that Gill’s stumping was the turning point of the game. He highlighted how other players were struggling to get him out whereas he took less than one second to send him packing. He explained:
“The turning point of the match was Shubman Gill’s stumping. CSK powered their way back into the game, thanks to that stumping that took less than a second. That came at a time when the other players were struggling with fielding. Gill got two chances but it was the 41-year-old captain (MS Dhoni) who stumped him in a flash.” He concluded.
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