Watch: In an India-Pakistan ODI in 2006, captain Rahul Dravid and Suresh Raina combined to shrewdly plan Kamran Akmal’s dismissal.
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Dravid led India in 79 matches, most of which coincided with Greg Chappell’s controversial tenure as the team’s coach. While there were many lows, the side also enjoyed sustained one-day success through much of his stint, including a streak of 17 consecutive wins while chasing.
Widely known for his cricketing acumen, Dravid was at the centre of a brilliant masterplan that saw the Indian team plan and execute the dismissal of Akmal during the Multan ODI of 2006.
With Pakistan on 15-0, Dravid decided to take one of the two slips off, asking Raina to position himself at short point when opener Akmal was on strike. The wicketkeeper-batsman, known for his belligerent off-side play, now had a packed outside field with players at backward point, short point, cover and mid-off.
“This (short point) position makes a lot of sense,” said Ramiz Raja on air, “because he [Akmal] likes to go hard at the ball in that direction, and they expect him to play uppishly”.
Irfan Pathan then delivered a length ball wide of the off stump, almost inviting Akmal to have a go at it. The batsman obliged with a full-blooded hack on the off-side, hoping to clear the in-field. But he couldn’t get past Raina, stationed exactly for that shot, who plucked a sharp catch.
Years later, he spoke about the brilliance of the skipper in formulating the plan.
“There was a rule at that time to keep catching fielders in the 15 yards,” Raina said in 2020. “So Rahul bhai asked me will you stand at point? I said ‘yes please tell me where to stand’. He said ‘Lean forward and be ready to take a catch.’”
“The thing that impressed me most was that Rahul bhai knew that a catch might come there and it came in the next delivery,” Raina added.
Watch the brilliant catch here:
