“Message is clear”- Fans credit ‘Thala’ as Shoaib Bashir fails to take wicket from MS Dhoni Pavilion in Ranchi

The MS Dhoni Pavilion was inaugurated in 2019, days before the start of the 2019 IPL.

“Message is clear”- Fans credit ‘Thala’ as Shoaib Bashir fails to take wicket from MS Dhoni Pavilion in Ranchi

Shoaib Bashir bowled 8 overs from the MS Dhoni, but failed to pick up a single wicket (Images via ESPN)

During the Ranchi Test in the England tour of India, Shoaib Bashir picked up his maiden first-class first wicket haul. On the 2nd day, he bowled a 31-over unchanged spell, from the Abhishek Choudhary end. He had picked up four wickets that day, and finally bowled his first over from the MS Dhoni Pavilion, named after former Indian captain MS Dhoni.

On the 2nd day, Bashir was given 7 overs to bowl from the MS Dhoni Pavilion, failing to pick up a single wicket. He bowled a total of 8 overs from their end, and was nowhere close to picking up any wicket. 

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That changed when he was sent to bowl in the opposite end, taking the wicket of debutant Akash Deep to complete his five wicket haul. Out of the 44 overs he bowled, he had grown comfortable bowling from the Abhishek Choudhary Pavilion. 

Fans claim MS Dhoni protected India from Shoaib Bashir

Shoaib Bashir has looked good during the Ranchi Test, with the spinner getting the wickets of Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Deep to complete his fifer. But none of those wickets came from the MS Dhoni Pavilion. 

MS Dhoni Shoaib Bashir
MS Dhoni was credited by fans as Shoaib Bashir didn’t take a wicket from that end. (Images via ESPN)

When fans saw the stat, they immediately started talking about how MS Dhoni is to be credited. The ongoing viral trend regarding the former Indian captain was heavily referenced, with most commenting “Thala for a reason”. 

Check out their reactions: 

https://twitter.com/trollpakistanii/status/1761643774705569819?s=20

With Bashir picking up wickets, the Indian batting struggled but thanks to a valiant 90 by Dhruv Jurel, India managed to put up 307. Ravichandran Ashwin’s 35th Test fifer helped in getting England bowled out for only 145 runs. Batting only 8 overs to finish the 4th day, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 40 off 8 overs, with India now only needing 152 to win. 

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