Faf du Plessis reveals how he recalled Dhoni’s runout against Bangladesh in T20 World Cup 2016 inspired him to make tactical move in SA 20 JSK vs DSG final over

Faf du Plessis on the left and MS Dhoni on the right. (SA20/File photo)

Johannesburg Super Kings skipper Faf du Plessis recalled the movement of inspiration he drew from MS Dhoni during the final over of the SA20 against Durban Super Giants. In the final over, Donovan Ferreira took off a glove, and with Super Giants needing one run from one ball. Bowler Wiaan Mulder slipped in a cutter across, and batter Simon Harmer tried to cut the ball, missed it completely, and Ferreira, from behind the stumps, hit them directly, and Super Giants could not get over the line, and the game went into a super over, which Super Kings ended up winning.

Du Plessis, in the post-match, revealed that the final delivery to Harmer was part of the plan. l”I remember there was a game a long time ago, when MS Dhoni was standing behind the stumps for India. I think it was against Bangladesh in a World Cup, and I remember the guy bowling almost like a cut ball across him,” du Plessis said in the post-match presentation (via Jio Hotstar).

“So, I just told him (Mulder), just go short, across him, and hopefully we get a wicket. I was not banking on a run out. So, we are bowling for run outs now,” he added.

In a must-win group stage encounter in 2016 World T20, Dhoni dashed the hopes of several Bangladeshi fans when he completed an impossible run-out to help the Men In Blue win the contest by 1 run.

The match was played at the M Chinnaswamy stadium with the visitors dominating the proceedings from the word go. After restricting India to a paltry 146/7 on the board, they were on the verge from wrapping up a contest.

With 11 required from the final six deliveries, all-rounder Hardik Pandya was handed the responsibility to defend the target. However, a couple of boundaries by veteran Bangladeshi cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim saw the equation reduce to two from three balls.

However, cricket fans then witnessed a dramatic turnaround as Bangladesh lost wickets in consecutive deliveries. The choke was then followed by an epic run-out, which saw Dhoni remove the wickets before the batsman could make his ground.

Dhoni played the finishing role yet again for India, but this time it was his gloves that worked the magic.