Dhoni got most things right in the third ODI. First, the playing 11 was perfect, given the available resources. Although India again could not finish off the Lankans after getting them down 94-7, the bigger problem remains the batting with four out of seven failing. So I hope Dhoni ignores the exhortations of the TV commentators led by Tony Greig to play five bowlers. But, if he does induct a fifth bowler, it should be RP Singh, because Pathan has become too slow to be able to take wickets. Four pacers bowling the first 20 overs at the brittle Lankan lineup seems tempting, but whom would you drop? By rights, it should be Yuvraj, but that's too tough a call at this stage. Maybe in the fifth ODI if India lose the next one.
The second thing Dhoni almost got right was the batting lineup, with Yuvraj moving up to number three. But sending Badrinath ahead of Rohit was wrong. Rohit's just had a couple of failures. He shouldn't lose his batting position so easily, after having shown his class over the past year.
The third and most important thing was to win the toss and bat because the ball did more for both the pacers and spinners in the cool atmosphere of the evening. And he topped it up with a captain's knock to rescue the team. It's a pity he ran Raina out, though, when he was looking set for a big one.
The one area where Dhoni continues to expose his rawness in captaincy is the field placement. Munaf bowled without a slip to Mahela even though that was the last recognised batsman standing. And Bhajji had no forward short leg for Mahela even though the ball was turning and jumping. The Indians allowed the Sri Lankan captain to bat himself back to form with a 94, and he can make them pay for it in the next two ODIs.
6 comments:
Dhoni, no doubt is fabulous; but there're some of his policies like sidelining the seniors, which result him carrying the non-performing members on his back, every time India wins or loses.
there can never be a perfect match...and don't get disillusioned by the margin of victory...after 7 wickets to 90 odd runs...SL was never in game...
injuries to most experienced player (srt) most performing player (sehwag) sitting duck as vice captain...and then ofcourse mendis menace...enough masala for any captain to sulk...but not dhoni...
he not only optimized the resources but has brought india into position of actually winning this series from what appeared like doom...
and while doing this he also illustrated how mendis should be played...he also showed that if you have determination and willing mind to work out things than you can over take obstacles...like he did despite not having the technique like his more pedigreed colleagues...
singh is king!!
One issue I noticed was that he lost his cool in between. Not sure at who. It will be interesting to see if he is able to maintain his cool facade when his form is poor or after a string of loses.
good point, rs. but i think there were quite a few missed catches and runouts, and sometimes you do need to be shaken out of complacency. he did defend his fielders though after the match, by pointing out that the ball was hard to pick at night against the backdrop of a colourful crowd.
well written..
he is giving us quite a ride. What is it...a little over a year we have been with Dhoni as captain? It has been up and down but mostly interesting and refreshin.
The downs hurt because the ups have raised the bar for down.
What we are seeing is what the fab fellows were trying to do after the '96 WC....bearing with the wood and building a new team along with themselves.
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