Dhoni's Richards moment
Plays of the Day from the third T20I between India and Sri Lanka
Sidharth Monga
14-Feb-2016
Easy stumping for MS Dhoni before the big appeal that changed the umpire's mind • BCCI
The dummy
Runs. That's what everybody saw on the Visakhapatnam pitch before the match. It looked white, was hard, didn't have moisture nor cracks. This was expected to be the routine Twenty20 pitch that remains the same throughout the duration of the match. The decision at toss in these evening games is always a balancing act: do you bowl in dew or do you bat on a pitch that has become even slower and started to turn more? Here India made the easier call because not much turn was expected. Except when Tillakaratne Dilshan faced the second ball of the match, bowled by R Ashwin, he was hit on the inside edge of the bat, and signalled to his partner that the ball was turning. And this was the new ball. And it turned not just for Ashwin, but also for Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled flatter and quicker. In fact it turned square for Jadeja. This could well have been a mistake at the toss for India, but Sri Lanka's top order batted irresponsibly and left them no total to bowl at.
Runs. That's what everybody saw on the Visakhapatnam pitch before the match. It looked white, was hard, didn't have moisture nor cracks. This was expected to be the routine Twenty20 pitch that remains the same throughout the duration of the match. The decision at toss in these evening games is always a balancing act: do you bowl in dew or do you bat on a pitch that has become even slower and started to turn more? Here India made the easier call because not much turn was expected. Except when Tillakaratne Dilshan faced the second ball of the match, bowled by R Ashwin, he was hit on the inside edge of the bat, and signalled to his partner that the ball was turning. And this was the new ball. And it turned not just for Ashwin, but also for Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled flatter and quicker. In fact it turned square for Jadeja. This could well have been a mistake at the toss for India, but Sri Lanka's top order batted irresponsibly and left them no total to bowl at.
The touch
Jadeja's arm is often replay-proof. Even in slow-motion re-enactment of the action his throw seems to travel at normal pace. In the eighth over of Sri Lanka's innings, though, Jadeja did it with a bit of finesse. As Yuvraj Singh misfielded one off his own bowling, Seekkuge Prasanna set off for a single, only to be rightly sent back by non-striker Dasun Shanaka. Jadeja charged in from short, straight extra cover and fielded the ball behind his body. He had the presence of mind to know he was close enough to the stumps and needed just a soft throw to defeat Prasanna. So he just flicked it back-hand on to the stumps. The throw might have been slow, but the fielding and the thought process were quick as usual.
Jadeja's arm is often replay-proof. Even in slow-motion re-enactment of the action his throw seems to travel at normal pace. In the eighth over of Sri Lanka's innings, though, Jadeja did it with a bit of finesse. As Yuvraj Singh misfielded one off his own bowling, Seekkuge Prasanna set off for a single, only to be rightly sent back by non-striker Dasun Shanaka. Jadeja charged in from short, straight extra cover and fielded the ball behind his body. He had the presence of mind to know he was close enough to the stumps and needed just a soft throw to defeat Prasanna. So he just flicked it back-hand on to the stumps. The throw might have been slow, but the fielding and the thought process were quick as usual.
The 13-run legal ball
The worst possible outcome off a limited-overs delivery. Well actually it can get even worse if you keep bowling no-balls, but for reasonably intelligent bowlers this is the worst outcome. You bowl a no-ball that goes for a six, and then the free hit travels too. This is what happened with Yuvraj moments before the Jadeja magic. A high full-toss slipped out of Yuvraj's hand, which Shanaka deposited over wide long-on for a six. The free hit was full, slightly fuller than a half-volley, but fearlessly Shanka lofted it back over Yuvraj's head to make it 13 off one legal delivery.
The worst possible outcome off a limited-overs delivery. Well actually it can get even worse if you keep bowling no-balls, but for reasonably intelligent bowlers this is the worst outcome. You bowl a no-ball that goes for a six, and then the free hit travels too. This is what happened with Yuvraj moments before the Jadeja magic. A high full-toss slipped out of Yuvraj's hand, which Shanaka deposited over wide long-on for a six. The free hit was full, slightly fuller than a half-volley, but fearlessly Shanka lofted it back over Yuvraj's head to make it 13 off one legal delivery.
The appeal
There is an infamous appeal from Viv Richards for a catch down the leg side, which Barbadian umpire Lloyd Barker was seemingly not going to uphold as he took a couple of steps away from the stumps and towards the bowler Curtly Ambrose. Richards, though, kept appealing and ran towards the umpire as he appealed, doing a little jig. Now Richards was a man known for his fair play, which might have possibly swayed the decision based purely on his appeal and conviction, resulting in the dismissal of Rob Bailey, who ironically is now an umpire himself.
There is an infamous appeal from Viv Richards for a catch down the leg side, which Barbadian umpire Lloyd Barker was seemingly not going to uphold as he took a couple of steps away from the stumps and towards the bowler Curtly Ambrose. Richards, though, kept appealing and ran towards the umpire as he appealed, doing a little jig. Now Richards was a man known for his fair play, which might have possibly swayed the decision based purely on his appeal and conviction, resulting in the dismissal of Rob Bailey, who ironically is now an umpire himself.
In Visakhapatnam Dhoni, one of the greatest ODI batsmen ever along with Richards himself, did a bit of a Richards himself. This is not to suggest that either Richards or Dhoni in this case deliberately appealed knowing the batsman was not out, but the conviction in the appeal did account for the batsmen. Suresh Raina seemed to have beaten the outside edge of Sachithra Senanayake with a real full ball, but Dhoni was the only man who went up. Except that he showed no signs of letting up. Eventually, after a long time, umpire Anil Chaudhary gave in. The replays showed clear floodlight between Senanayake's bat and the ball.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo