You cannot but marvel at
MS Dhoni's resourcefulness and mind control. Despite being under immense
pressure as captain, player and strategist of Team India, with his unit
going through a horror run over the last one and a half years, Dhoni's
batting in recent one-day Internationals has once again established his
phenomenal prowess in this format.
One can question his
leadership, his Test performance, his tactics and so on but the way he
has almost single handedly battled for India in the series against Pakistan and the ongoing one against England can only draw admiration.
It didn't surprise anyone when England skipper Alastair Cook
described Dhoni as "probably the best batsman in the world when it
comes to batting in the end overs" after his knock in Kochi on Tuesday.
"He is probably the best player in the world in those situations, in
these conditions. He does it time and time again. Dhoni is incredibly
hard to bowl at and with that extra man in the circle, it's very hard to
stop him on these flat wickets," Cook said.
The pressure has
been mounting but Dhoni, back in his favourite format, has not let it
affect his game. Pushed into a corner, the Indian skipper has come out
with all guns blazing.
Dhoni stood tall amidst the ruins as
India lost the series to Pakistan 1-2. His scores in the three-match
series read 113*, 54* and 36 at an astounding average of 203.00. But he was waging a lone furrow as he got very little support from his fellow batsmen.
Dhoni has carried on the momentum against England. He followed a quickfire 32 in the first ODI in Rajkot with a brilliant 72 in Kochi on Tuesday.
But it's just not the runs but the manner in which he responded to the
high-pressure situation that needs to be praised. Each time that Dhoni
has walked out to bat on the last five occasions, he has seen his
top-order perish cheaply.
Whether it is rebuilding the innings
or going for the slog in the end overs, the Indian skipper has not
missed a trick in the bag. Dhoni reads the game shrewdly when he has the
bat in his hand.
He has made the new fielding regulations
work to his advantage. Often in the past, when doing a resurrection job,
Dhoni avoided taking risks till the very last overs.
But with
that extra man in the circle now, Dhoni is now willing to go over the
in-field much earlier. It has yielded handsome results. Often in the
past, a slide in the fortunes of the team has led to a slump in
individual form of captains leading India.
Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly,
Kapil Dev have all experienced that. But Dhoni has avoided the fate, at
least in ODIs. Despite being in the dock as the team has floundered,
Dhoni has averaged 83.82 in is last 27 innings in ODIs after the 2011
World Cup win with a strike rate of 92.39.
Former chairman of
selectors Kiran More, who first picked Dhoni for India, said pressure
brings out the best in Dhoni. "He has been facing a lot of criticism off
late. But I think Dhoni works criticism to his advantage.
Look at how well he has been performing. He is one the best
wicketkeeper-batsmen India has produced. I think right now he is best
man to lead the Indian side in all formats too.
I think the
only place where he needs to abdicate his captaincy is IPL. That will
give him a bit of relief," said the former India stumper.
