Couldn't bat, couldn't keep wicket, right? The show pony with a long mane and no batting technique? Sloppy behind the wicket, unable to keep to swing or spin? The creation of the media, a mere hawker of commodities?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has, yet again, shown that though he might be all that, he's a bit more than that. He's god - for cricket fanatics of India.
Twenty-eight years after India first won the World Cup that has had a cataclysmic effect on the world of cricket, India is world champion again.
India becomes the third team to win the World Cup two times after West Indies and Australia. Leading from the front was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who showed that grit and mental strength are greater than mere talent.
Virat Kohli was out in the 22nd over, with the team needing 161 runs. The man for the job would have needed a still, clear mind; ability to run hard and smash the ball if the going tough.
Yuvraj Singh can do it too, but he'd got a first-ball duck in the semifinal against Pakistan – for that reason more than anything else, this was Dhoni's job and Dhoni's stage. He didn't hide. He wasn't coy or fearful. He went in and simply did the job.
He did it by playing extreme smart cricket. He started slowly, his first 12 runs coming off 21 balls. He wasn't going to panic and start slogging. He would hang round, get his eye in, run hard, and when he got a chance, smash a four or two. He hit his first four off the 25th ball he faced, the ball hit through the vacant cover off Muttiah Muralitharan.
Dhoni's gameplan was simple. For the most part, the Sri Lankan spinners had two men saving the single on the leg-side and several guarding the boundary. The challenge was to play the ball against the turn and use the vacant space on the off-side. Dhoni's first four, against Murali, came through such a shot. He did this through the innings, running singles hard and doubles harder.
India were lost when he came in. Slowly, and without Dhoni giving an opportunity, India began to gain ground.
Dhoni is accused of playing ugly. But in ugliness tonight, there was much beauty, the beauty of an intelligent mind that's executing the plans it had made. There was one error in running between the wickets, and Dhoni raised his bat and struck his pad hard in anger – there may be blemishes in his technique, but he didn't want to lose control of the "controllables". And running between is the part of the game he has most control on.
He started hitting the ball for boundaries more regularly when he knew victory was nigh, and when the batting Powerplay had pulled the field in. And then, finally, that winning six.
This was one amazing performance by an amazing man. He may not possesses "proper" technique – but he also possesses no nerves at all. That makes him such a great player and captain.
AUTHORS: ROHIT MAHAJAN
PEOPLE: MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI
TAGS: CRICKET | CRICKET - ODIS | CRICKET - WORLD CUP 2011
SECTION: SPORTS
SUBSECTION: OPINION
APR 03, 2011 02:59 PM 1 | Dhoni is the product of rural India...an India shunned by the urbanites as backward and hopeless, but the India which produces the best filmmakers, artists, musicians and so on. A rural India which is comfortable with urban India, but not vice versa. Dhoni and Kapil Dev will win a world cup...Tendulkar, Gavaskar, Dravid and Kumble cannot (unless they are extremely lucky.) Look back into the years before MS Dhoni became MS Dhoni...he started from really humble beginnings (he was employed as a 'ticket collector' in the not too distant past.) He knows he has been fortunate. But he also knows he is extremely talented. This background gives him a laissez-faire attitude...whether it is a final or a group game, it is only a damn game. The only common element between Dhoni and Sangakkara is that they are wicketkeeper batsmen. But Dhoni believes in the 'kiss' philosophy - 'keep it simple...stupid'. Dhoni even divulged his game plan before the finals - bat first and score lots of runs - and thats a brilliant plan. Sangakkara ultimately adopted Dhoni's plan, but he overplotted (keeping Ajantha Mendis away, including Kulashekara and Randiv) and lost in the process. When you keep it simple, your mind becomes free to focus on the task ahead. And you dont become stupid. The final true mark of a champion is to stop playing when he/she is in the top of their game. Lets see if Dhoni can time that aspect of his career well!!! |
APR 03, 2011 04:18 PM 2 | Always a team effort but WC 2011 will be Dhoni's triumph as WC 1983 belongs to Kapil Dev. CRICKET WORLD CUP 2011 |
PERMALINK
LIKE (1)
DISLIKE (0)
REPORT ABUSE
Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
