Last Update on: November 1st, 2022 at 04:42 pm
Former India National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa has made a big revelation on how then-KKR captain Gautam Gambhir outsmarted then-RPS captain MS Dhoni with a Test-like field in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016.
Gambhir was numerous times seen employing a unique Test-like field for Dhoni during the matches. During the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 game between now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant and Kolkata Knight Riders, Gambhir once again used his Test-like field tactic for Dhoni as he decided to use two slips, a short leg, and a silly point. Gambhir’s ploy worked very well in that game as Dhoni scored just 8 runs off 22 balls.
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Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the former wicket-keeper of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Uthappa, revealed the thought process that went into Gambhir’s planning.
“That question is better directed to Gautam Gambhir than me. I was just a wicketkeeper at that point in time. But I think (it was done) just to put that extra pressure on him. Initially when he comes in to bat, just to force him to play a big shot. It was an in-and-out kind of a field where you had a lot of fielders very close to the bat,” Uthappa said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
When MS comes in to bat, he can be a little tentative and Gautam wanted to take advantage – Robin Uthappa
Uthappa further said that the legendary wicketkeeper-batter Dhoni was a “little tentative” when he came out to bat and Gambhir “wanted to take advantage of the fact”.
“Piyush Chawla was bowling. He is one of the best leg-spinners to have played the IPL and records state as much. He can be a very deceptive bowler. And everyone knows that when MS comes in to bat, he can be a little tentative and Gautam wanted to take advantage of the fact,” added Uthappa.
In the IPL 2016 game between KKR and RPS, the Dhoni-led side posted 103/6 on the board in 17.4 overs and the Gambhir-led side won by 8 wickets as per the DLS method.
