Sandeep held his nerves and produced a stunning yorker to seal the deal for RR against CSK.
While the second win at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur was a convincing one as RR defeated CSK by 32 runs, the Sanju Samson-led side registered a narrow three-run victory in the first meeting at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Pacer Sandeep Sharma was one of the architects behind Rajasthan’s close win. Chasing 176 to win, CSK needed 21 from the last over and Dhoni smashed two sixes in the first three balls of Sandeep but was not able to hit a boundary or six in the final ball of the over when the hosts required 5.
Amid the pressure situation, Sandeep held his nerves and bowled a couple of stunning yorkers to seal the deal for the Royals.
Weeks after the victory, RR spinner Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on the final over and also revealed his conversation with Sandeep before the last delivery.
Interestingly, Ashwin had suggested the right-arm seamer to bowl the “riskiest” delivery.
"Sandeep Sharma bowled that last over to Dhoni and he smashed him for two sixes. When you are defending 20 runs and when a guy like Dhoni has smashed you for 2 sixes, the odds of you coming out on top of that battle from there are literally none," Ashwin said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“‘What’s the highest risk ball at this point’, I asked." Sandeep replied, “Slower length ball."
“I said, ‘You try bowling that to him now’."
“At the end of the day, at that point in time, it is the riskiest ball that the batter won’t be expecting. Because he knows that the bowler is under immense pressure," Ashwin added.
Here’s the video: