MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir are revered as modern-day legends of Indian cricket. Their contributions to Team India have been nothing short of remarkable, with both players being instrumental in securing some of the most glorious victories in the history of Indian cricket.
Their partnership on the field has been a long-standing one, dating back to their India A days, even before they became regulars for the senior team. While there may have been occasional differences in the past, with reports of a rift between the two, it is evident that they share a deep mutual respect for each other to this day.
In a recent interview, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan recounted a fascinating anecdote about the on-field tactics employed by Gautam Gambhir against MS Dhoni during the IPL several years ago. Pathan revealed that during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Dhoni was struggling to find his form while playing for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS).
In fact, during the 2016 season, Dhoni was leading the Pune franchise and found himself in a precarious position during their away game against Gambhir's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata.
Despite opting to bat first, Pune found themselves in a difficult situation, with their side struggling to put up a competitive total. Gambhir, who was captaining KKR at the time, recognized Dhoni's vulnerability and employed a clever tactic to rattle the former Indian captain. Gambhir placed a fielder at short mid-wicket, a position that Dhoni typically used to score runs. This move proved to be a masterstroke, as Dhoni was unable to score any runs in that area and was visibly frustrated by Gambhir's tactics.
As Dhoni strode out to the crease with the score at 74-4, KKR's captain, Gambhir, made a strategic move by placing Shakib Al Hasan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Yusuf Pathan in close-in positions. He also relied on his top spinners, Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla, to put pressure on the opposition. This tactic proved effective as Dhoni struggled to rotate the strike.
Irfan, who was at the non-striker's end, recalled the incident and noted that Dhoni was taken aback by Gambhir's tactics.
While doing commentary on Star Sports Hindi during Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)'s home game versus Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in match 45 of IPL 2023 on Wednesday (May 03), Irfan said, "Gautam Gambhir played with the ego of MS Dhoni when he was the captain of KKR. He was the only one who succeeded in rattling him for years. MS was rattled to the core by the field setting."
In the current season of IPL 2023, Dhoni is leading the CSK team and they currently hold the third position in the points table. Gambhir, on the other hand, serves as the team mentor for LSGs. Lucknow is currently in the second spot, with both teams having earned 11 points each after ten games.
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