CHENNAI: For those who follow Chennai Super Kings as a matter of habit, MS Dhoni’s magic act on Thursday night was par for the course.
With the score reading 167-8 in pursuit of 202, the match was all but lost. But Dhoni, the master finisher, planned the last act to such perfection that the finest script writer would have struggled to match him. Dhoni knew he had to ensure that Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews ran out of their quota of 10 overs and all he would need is six balls at the end to get anything between 12-18.
Dhoni refused a single to Ishant in the last ball of the 49th over, changed his bat, and then with 15 to get, launched into an all-out assault on the inexperienced Shaminda Eranga to finish the game off with two balls to spare.
“I don’t blame Eranga. It’s virtually impossible to stop Dhoni unless you get him out,” L Balaji, who has played with and against him in various teams, told TOI.
Balaji explained that how a bowler is psyched out by Dhoni in the closing stages of the match. “It’s given that unless you bowl a yorker at supreme pace, MS will get you. A bowler feels helpless against Dhoni in such situations. The only way to win the match then is to keep him off strike or somehow get him out,” Balaji said.
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Highest Averages In Successful Chases In ODIs (Minimum 1000 Runs)
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||||||||||
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Batsman
|
Matches
|
Innings
|
NO
|
Runs
|
HS
|
Average
|
100
|
50
|
SR
|
|
|
72
|
54
|
33
|
2102
|
183*
|
100.09
|
2
|
14
|
89.63
|
||
|
MG Bevan
|
75
|
45
|
25
|
1725
|
107
|
86.25
|
3
|
12
|
66.42
|
|
|
Misbah-ul-Haq
|
41
|
31
|
17
|
1173
|
93*
|
83.78
|
–
|
10
|
72.76
|
|
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MJ Clarke
|
62
|
47
|
24
|
1919
|
105*
|
83.43
|
3
|
16
|
75.67
|
|
|
V Kohli
|
40
|
40
|
11
|
2198
|
183
|
75.79
|
8
|
11
|
91.65
|
|
|
S Raina
|
60
|
43
|
22
|
1501
|
116*
|
71.47
|
1
|
12
|
102.24
|
|
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Highest Averages While Batting Second In ODIs (Minimum 3000 Runs)
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||||||||||
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MS Dhoni
|
120
|
96
|
35
|
3200
|
183*
|
52.45
|
2
|
22
|
82.13
|
|
|
JH Kallis
|
167
|
155
|
34
|
5518
|
139
|
45.60
|
5
|
44
|
72.01
|
|
|
G Gambhir
|
81
|
78
|
10
|
3093
|
150*
|
45.48
|
6
|
21
|
86.15
|
|
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Highest Averages As Captain In ODIs (Minimum 3000 Runs)
|
||||||||||
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MS Dhoni
|
142
|
125
|
38
|
4881
|
124
|
56.10
|
5
|
34
|
84.56
|
|
|
RT Ponting
|
230
|
220
|
22
|
8497
|
164
|
42.91
|
22
|
51
|
83.41
|
|
|
Azharuddin
|
174
|
162
|
29
|
5239
|
153*
|
39.39
|
4
|
37
|
78.46
|
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S Badrinath, who has seen Dhoni doing this time and again for CSK, says that even a yorker is not always a safe option to Dhoni in such situations. “He can generate extreme power from his bottom-hand. He uses the depth of the crease and digs out yorkers in a way that is unique to him.”
When Dhoni was asked by presenter Arun Lal after the win how he pulled off these close chases time and time again, Dhoni said with a smile: “Probably I am blessed with some good cricket sense.” His “cricket sense” sometimes gets annoying for the fans, who get edgy and suspect that Dhoni stretches the match to the final over as a matter of habit.
Even Gautam Gambhir once said on live TV in Australia in 2012 after Dhoni beat the hosts in an ODI in a last-over thriller that “the match could have got over much earlier”.
The commentators on Thursday night, too, were not quite understanding Dhoni’s strategy, as he allowed the likes of Vinay Kumar and Ishant Sharma to play out dot balls one after the other. “There’s no point criticizing Dhoni. He has a plan chalked out in his head and he knows that if it gets to the last over, he has the psychological edge. It’s the strength of his mind, which most players don’t have,” Badri said.
But didn’t Eranga play into Dhoni’s hands by bowling length balls?
“Length balls are the bread and butter of a pace bowler. Unless you are a Malinga (at his peak), you won’t be able to land six yorkers. And Dhoni can pick up change of pace brilliantly. I am telling you from experience that if Dhoni is on song at the death in limited-overs cricket, you can only pray that luck goes your way,” Balaji explained.
The feeling in world cricket these days is that Dhoni is the best finisher around. Before him, it wasMichael Bevan and comparisons often crop up. “They are similar in the way they approach their innings initially. But Bevan was more about furious running between the wickets and guiding the tail than big shots. Dhoni stands out with his power,” Balaji said.
