'Still Can't Believe How He Predicted That': R Ashwin Reveals MS Dhoni's Genius Tactic In CT 2013 Final

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has recalled how MS Dhoni brilliantly predicted the exact shot England’s Jonathan Trott would play in the 2013 Champions Trophy final and also told how to get him out.

India faced England, the hosts, in the final at Edgbaston in Birmingham, where rain interruptions curtailed the encounter to a 20-over affair. Not many gave the visitors a chance to defend a total as small as 129 but Dhoni used Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma brilliantly — all of them picked two wickets each — to seal a win on the last ball and add the only remaining ICC title to his cabinet.

“I still remember Mahi bhai came up to me and said, ‘Don’t bowl over the stumps to Trott; bowl from around the wicket. He’ll try to play on the leg side, and if the ball spins, he’ll get stumped.’ I still can’t believe how he predicted that,” Ashwin said on a special episode of JioHotstar’s Unbeaten: Dhoni’s Dynamites.

Former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik, another key member of that squad, reflected on Dhoni’s ability to make crucial decisions under pressure.

“This was our chance to show what cricket meant to Team India. We were resilient, we fought back, and we had the mindset to never give up. England were cruising; they were almost there and could have easily crossed the line. But Dhoni made some brilliant tactical moves, and the bowlers backed him up,” Karthik said.

Former India batter and commentator Akash Chopra also emphasized that the tournament was a testament to Dhoni’s leadership. “This was his tournament through and through. It had Dhoni written all over it. He had almost crafted this team in his own image and engineered victory after victory… That was a story written by the heavens,” he said.

He credited him for bringing back Sharma at the right time in the match, despite his expensive first spell with the new ball. Sharma took back-to-back wickets of Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara in the 17th over, which brought the match back to India’s control.

“That turned out to be the most magical thing Ishant has done in his life. He changed up the pace and took two crucial wickets back-to-back. That’s when you realize Dhoni has the Midas touch – whatever he touches turns to gold.”

In a final masterstroke, Dhoni boldly trusted Ashwin to bowl the last six balls, in a time when it was rare for spinners to end innings and bowl in the death.

Chopra explained why this decision worked, saying, “Throwing the ball to a spinner in the 20th over is a huge gamble. But Dhoni had complete confidence in Ashwin – not just in his skills, but in his mindset and ability to handle pressure,” Chopra said.