Getting the wicket of AB de Villiers has always been a dream for any bowler and his captain, but apparently, MS Dhoni was not too pleased after a former Chennai Super Kings pacer dismissed the Royal Challengers Bangalore batter in an IPL game back in 2015. In match 37 of the season, CSK had posted 148/9 and during the case, de Villiers had raced to 21 off 13 balls having struck five boundaries in a rollicking start.
Getting de Villiers’ wicket was important for CSK and providing the breakthrough was Ishwar Pandey, who picked up the wicket off the last ball of an eventful over. Recalling the fixture, Pandey revealed that although he dismissed de Villiers before the South Africa great could inflict any further damage, Dhoni was not too pleased with the manner in which the pacer had gotten ABD out.
“Once we were playing a match against RCB in Bangalore. When AB de Villiers came to bat, Mahi bhai handed me the ball and told me not deliver a yorker and bowl well. I beat de Villiers three or four balls and got hit for a four off the fifth delivery. There was one ball left so I thought I’d hit the yorker,” Pandey told Dainik Bhaskar.
“I bowled a yorker but it became a low full toss. De Villiers got out on the same ball. After getting the wicket, Dhoni came to me and scolded me. Although he wasn’t serious, Dhoni said ‘I told you not to bowl the yorker’. Then later, patting his back, he said – Never mind, aagey se dhyaan rakhna.”
Pandey, who picked up 25 wickets from 18 IPL matches between 2013 and 2014, announced his retirement from all forms on Monday. Despite a fine First-Class record, Pandey could never earn an India cap. The closest he came to representing India was in 2014, when the right-arm quick was picked in the Test squad against New Zealand, but all he could play was a tour game.
“It was an honour to be part of the Indian team for the Test series against England and New Zealand. Though I was not fortunate enough to play a game for my country, to still be a part of the Indian team will always be the most special memory of my life,” he mentioned.
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