The last 13 times that India have had to chase a target in an ODI, they have emerged victors. One of the reasons for this hot streak is the cool play of the wicket-keeper/batsman - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Quickly targeted as a basher in the mould of Shahid "boom-boom" Afridi, Dhoni has shown that he is much more than a manic pulverizer of the cricket ball.
While he can smash the ball a fair bit (and does it very frequently) he is also adept at running quick singles and twos and possesses a cool head during tense moments. Consequently, it is no surprise that he usually stays till the end to ensure that the job is not left for others to finish.
In this 13 game streak, here are the teams' score and Dhoni's contributions (DNB - did not bat; * indicates he was not out):
279/4, Dhoni: 37*(off 26 balls)
255/6, Dhoni: 67*(off 63 balls)
123/2, Dhoni: DNB
303/4, Dhoni: 183*(off 145 balls)
262/6, Dhoni: 45*(off 43 balls)
197/3, Dhoni: DNB
245/5, Dhoni: 80(off 73 balls)
171/4, Dhoni: DNB
224/5, Dhoni: 12(off 26 balls)
266/3, Dhoni: DNB
292/5. Dhoni: 72*(off 46 balls)
162/5, Dhoni: 2*(off 5 balls)
287/2, Dhoni: 77*(off 56 balls)
That is an aggregate of 575 runs in 9 innings (average: 287.5). He has been dismissed only twice - his solitary failure being when he scored 12 against South Africa; his other dismissal on 80 was caused by his attempt to end the game with a six.
May he continue to punish bowlers for years to come!!
1 comment:
I ended up here searching for articles on Dhoni and it is the best that I have found so far..
A very interesting observation and thanks for compiling it.
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