After umpteen permutations and combinations, the middle order is set. Now, it just needs to start ticking. © BCCI
Only once, they were noticeably silent, when their team was stuttering at 104/5. It was a second successive failure of Indias newly structured ODI batting line-up. MS Dhoni came to the rescue, in his typically inimitable style. There has been a lot of chatter about his batting lately, how his reflexes have slowed down, how he cannot easily hit sixes anymore, and so on. There is some truth in it.
By his own admission later on in the press conference, Dhoni wanted to go after the bowling at that dire stage. The elder statesman in him preached caution though, and he marshaled the lower-order to a sub-par fighting total. It was a surprise that he even thought otherwise initially. He is no stranger to this situation after all, having done so time and again. Pressure can force mistakes from the best players though, and the skipper had looked overwhelmed for the past week.
It was a test, not of his ability to finish, but restructuring the innings. Nobody is more aware of his physical and mental fitness than Dhoni himself. He knows that the sunset phase of his career has begun, and maybe he knows the end-point too. But he wants to fight his way through to the finish line. And that Indore innings 92* off 86 balls is a case study of how a swashbuckling finisher has now turned into a late-order accumulator.
In that light, this Indian collapse came at the right time for Dhoni to reaffirm his utility to the side. He ran between the wickets with purpose, biding his time. Later on, he hit four sixes, three of them off spinners. This was more power hitting than timing, more willful strokes than instinctive. The best example of it was in the last over, when he struggled again to get Kagiso Rabada away.
The batsman heaved the last delivery of the 50th over to mid-wicket for six. Before that, the youngster bowled five dot balls, never going full, only bowling short of length. The helicopter never came out, obviously. This is why Dhoni was unable to get him away in Kanpur, and he almost failed here too. This last shot was an admission that he has to adapt now to how the bowlers have identified his strengths.
And there has been some work on it, evidently. Earlier in Kanpur, Dhoni had brought out the AB de Villiers flick over/past the keeper. He practiced it hard in the nets before the Indore game, albeit never got a chance to play it in the match itself. Even so, with that unbeaten knock, he was able to restore his place in the Indian batting order. Yes, he is still relevant. No, not as a finisher, but at number five wherein he can set up or guide a chase carefully.
It doesnt really matter whether you are batting first, or whether you are chasing. Ajinkya Rahane at three, Virat Kohli at four, Suresh Raina or me at five and six, followed by Axar Patel (or Stuart Binny/Ravindra Jadeja), it gives that immense strength to the batting order thats really needed. These are the kind of batsmen who can play either type of cricket. If needed, they can build partnerships, and if needed they can play the big shots. It just gives that confidence into the middle order, said the skipper in the post-match conference.
His words have direct implications on primarily two players Rahane and Kohli.
In all the hullabaloo of the Kanpur defeat, and the elation of victory in Indore, a very important point has gone missing. Batting at three, Rahane has scored back-to-back half-centuries. And they have come at a decent strike-rate, 60 off 82 balls at 73.17 in the first and 51 off 63 balls at 80.95 in the second. In Kanpur, he was watching as Rohit Sharma fired on all cylinders. In Indore, he was building the innings after initial setbacks.
As such, there can be no complaints from Indias new number three batsman, except that he has failed to push on. That aspect demands patience and continued opportunity. During the past two years, Rahane has amply displayed his knack of playing counter-attacking cricket, and this is a role he is perfectly suited for. He can play second fiddle to either Rohit or Shikhar Dhawan, when either gets going, or rebuild when neither do. Most importantly, it doesnt leave one of Indias current top batsmen out of the playing eleven.
In turn, Rahanes promotion puts the spotlight on Kohli at number four. Through immense hard work and run scoring, he had progressed up the order and made the number three spot all his own. Yet, at the prime of his career, and in the middle of a bad patch (401 runs in 17 ODIs at 28.64), he is batting relatively lower down the order. Perhaps, for the first time in his career, Kohlis talent has been put second in favour of what the team needs.
Rahane is somebody who can do more damage at the top of the innings. He is a quality player, and in the last couple of innings, hes batting with a bit more freedom. Virat can bat at any slot. The kind of talent he has, he can score hundreds in only 30 overs. It would be fantastic to have him bat at three, but overall the batting strength increases with this order. We would like to give it a go (for some time), opined Dhoni.
Holding the inning together, whether batting first or whilst chasing, is the requirement here. He has to set up the finish, while Dhoni anchors it, and Raina/others finish the job. It is a major test for Kohli, whose poor run of ODI form is seriously hurting India. His success at number four holds the key to glory, perhaps keeping the 2016 World T20 in mind. Not to mention, this is a last roll of the dice for Dhoni in his final captaincy phase.
After umpteen permutations and combinations, the middle order is set. Now, it just needs to start ticking.
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