MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen to have ever graced the game and his record in all forms of cricket is just sensational. The Ranchi-born cricketer doesn’t have an orthodox batting technique. However, his hitting abilities in the end overs have changed the course of many games and hence, the former Indian captain is also regarded as the best finisher ever. Recently, former Indian coach Greg Chappell recalled Dhoni’s initial days in the national team and revealed how amazed he was seeing the dasher’s batting skills at first. MS Dhoni Should Return to International Cricket if He Is in Good Shape: Rohit Sharma.

Chappell heaped praises on Dhoni and hailed him as the ‘most powerful Indian batsman ever.’ He even went on to claim that he converted the wicket-keeper from an aggressive batsman to a calculative finisher. "I vividly remember that I was left awestruck when I saw him batting for the first time. He was definitely the most exciting cricketer in India at that time. He used to hit the ball from the most unusual positions. He is the most powerful batsman I have ever seen," said Chappell during a chat session on the Facebook handle of the Playwrite Foundation.

Recalling Dhoni’s 183-run knock against Sri Lanka in 2005, Chappell said that after the match he asked Dhoni to play shots along the ground instead of trying to hit every ball in air. "I remember his knock of 183 against Sri Lanka and how he tore them apart. It was power hitting at its very best. The next match was in Pune. I asked MS, 'why don't you play along the ground more instead of trying to hit every ball to the boundary'. We were chasing 260 odd and were in a good position and Dhoni was playing a contrasting innings to the one he had played just couple of days before,” the former Australian batsman added.

"We still needed 20 runs to win and Dhoni asked me, through 12th man RP Singh if he could hit sixes. I told him not until the target was in single digit. When we needed six runs to win, he finished the game with a six," he said.

Chappell also said that he used to challenge Dhoni to finish the game and the wicket-keeper would give him a smile after scoring the winning runs. He also called Dhoni the best best finisher ever. "I always used to challenge him if he could finish the game. There used to be a booming smile on his face, whenever he used to score the winning runs. He is definitely the best finisher the game has ever seen," he signed off.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 13, 2020 03:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).