MS Dhoni's first ODI stumping victim still rues dismissal
Rajin Saleh and MS Dhoni
Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya has gone down in history as the batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni caught out of his crease to become the first man to have effected 100 stumpings in one-day international cricket. The feat was achieved at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. The No. 8 batsman was stumped off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for four before India ended up whitewashing the islanders 5-0.
Doubtless, Dhoni will never forget Dhananjay. He probably hasn't forgotten Rajin Saleh as well since the Bangladeshi was his first stumping victim way back in the final game of the three-match 2004 one-day series in Dhaka.
Opening the batting for Bangladesh with Nafis Iqbal, Saleh worked his way to 82 through some attractive shots through the cover region and a few pull shots. But while attempting to put a Sachin Tendulkar delivery away, Saleh stepped out of his crease a wee bit only for Dhoni to whip the bails off with such alacrity that the television commentators wondered whether Tendulkar had disturbed the batsman's furniture.
"I was surprised to realise that Dhoni had got me stumped with such speed. I was disappointed at not getting a hundred because I was batting so well that day," Saleh told mid-day from Dhaka.
Since Dhoni was in his first year of international cricket, Saleh could be forgiven for believing that he was, "just a normal wicketkeeper-batsman." On Sunday, he admitted being aware of Dhoni's impending feat and while he feels proud to have been the India icon's first stumping victim, the pain of missing out on a hundred hasn't eased off.
"As I said, I was striking the ball well against an opposition which included my heroes like Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. It was a full strength Indian team and it's a match I even talk to my son about," said Saleh. Bangladesh were bowled out for 257, falling short of the target by 91 runs. "To me, Dhoni is nothing short of a legend and his feat has made me feel very proud," Saleh signed off.
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