The Ashes
Dhoni, India’s best ODI finishers..
As Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni walked into the centre in the Adelaide ODI against Australia on Sunday evening, the visitors still needed more than just a few runs to cross the finishing line. There is a sense of calm when Dhoni is in the middle. He was not finding the gaps, he was not able to rotate the strike but what Dhoni did impressively was not to lose focus and his wicket. The mistake which India made in the Test series was to not put a price on their wicket and that became their undoing.
I was a wee bit worried when in the hot conditions in Adelaide, Dhoni walked in with a sweater. I assume that Dhoni was not at his fittest best. And that showed in his running too, but nothing really bothers when he is at the crease. With wickets falling in regular intervals, it finally boiled down to 13 runs off the last over. For me, the most important thing was the captain of the ship was still in it. And then, Dhoni unveiled the shot of the match. It was a six that was hit of the best bowler of the night — Clint McKay—-a shot that not calmed the nerves in the Indian dugout but also gave a ray of hope that India were firmly in it.
McKay bowled a delivery that was wide outside off stump and a good length which was enough for Dhoni to scorch it past the long-on boundary for a huge killer blow. The last time Gautam Gambhir scored more than 90 in an ODI innings, it was Dhoni who took the credit for giving the finishing touches. That was the World Cup final in Mumbai last year, Sunday night was no different.
What makes Dhoni such a superb finisher in ODIs is his ability to anticipate what the bowler will come up with. Dhoni is ready to burn his lungs by some swift running and his partners Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are all students of the same school.
Dhoni’s dazzling show has put the confidence back in the Indian outfit. Hopefully, it will help them go the distance in the ODI tri-series.
