MS Dhoni and his brilliance behind the stumps was witnessed yet again by the spectators at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata after the veteran keeper effected a mind-blowing stumping off Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling.
The stupendous effort led to the dismissal of Maxwell who gave away his wicket to Chahal for the second time in as many meetings.
In the 23rd over, Maxwell charged down the wicket after seeing a slightly lofted delivery from the leggie only to get beaten in the air. The ball cheekily sneaked through his legs while rebounding off the thigh pad.
The deviation, however, did not cause any trouble for Dhoni who got hold of it to stump the hard-hitting right-hander. Maxwell poor decision to venture out of the crease ended up at the end of a booming stand that could have helped Australia gain a superior position in the chase.
His dismissal reduced the chasing side to four wickets down at 106/4 with Steve Smith at the other end.
Australia was in a tricky position when Maxi walked in. Initially, it seemed that the unconventional right-hander was ready for another quick knock. Along with the skipper Smith, he put up a short 21 runs stand before imploding.
His departure has put more pressure on Smith to stay on the crease ne pilot the chase while ensuring the run rate doesn’t creep up above comfortable levels. Eventually, Smith also gave away his wicket after completing his fifty.
Earlier, India set up a target of 253 runs batting on the tricky Eden Gardens track in gloomy conditions.
Batting didn’t seem easy at all in the first innings and it required half centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Virat Kohli for India to reach a respectable total. Australia are also in need of a similar knock from Marcus Stoinis and Mathew Wade who are at the crease currently.
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