Return of Captain Charisma

Well-crafted fifty will boost Dhonis confidence

A helmet in one hand and a bag slung over his shoulder, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was instantly mobbed by a sea of admirers at the Hyderabad airport on Saturday morning. One particularly charmed female fan came charging across the departure area, hysterically screaming ‘Dhoni, Dhoni’, forcing the Jharkhandi – oblivious to the mayhem he had triggered -- to take a rapid backward step.

Whoever thought the Dhoni aura was fading should think again. Yes, his unbeaten 87 on Friday night helped, but the reception the Indian captain got at the airport was indication enough that irrespective of whether he delivers the goods or not, the dashing leader will continue to make heads turn.

The shocked rapidity with which he made Steve Finn’s head turn at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Friday made for compelling viewing. England had arrived in India some ten days back, riding the crest of a wave and quietly confident of their chances in the five-match one-day series. They didn’t quite strut around like champions, but they believed India were ripe for the taking, even in their own backyard. That belief took a major pounding in game one.

The helicopter shot is quintessential Dhoni, a fusion of timing and wrists and brute power generated from massively strong forearms. It’s a beautiful blend of rustic intelligence and studious analysis, a shot that defines the character of its practitioner. It’s a stroke Dhoni used to employ with no little success in the early stages of his career, but with growing time and greater responsibilities, he tended to rely on it increasingly sparsely.

It came to a point where Dhoni could no longer summon his patented stroke when he desired. He tried it – the big backlift, the bat coming in a scything arc to meet the fullish delivery, the snap of the wrists at the last minute and the strong forearms propelling the ball aerially – but only towards, not beyond, the long-on boundary.

The difference between success and failure is often no more than a couple of centimetres. In England last month, when nothing was going India’s way, Dhoni was twice caught in the deep playing that stroke. On Friday night, he attempted that stroke also twice, both times off the tall, speedy Finn.

The first soared over the fielder stationed at long-on and into the baying crowd beyond as Finn whirled back to survey the damage. The second too forced Finn to whirl around, this time in self-preservation as Dhoni ‘helicoptered’ the ball right through where the paceman’s head would have been had he not had the reflexes to spring out of the way. On both occasions, Finn’s jaw dropped; he looked perplexed and bemused, the look of someone pole-axed, and well aware of that.

The jaw-dropping extended beyond the field and into the press box, where a couple of former England cricketers were filing their daily despatches. The awe even in those hushed voices was hard to miss. “How does he do that?” and “Unbelievable!” were the common refrains from hardened pros who ought to have seen everything there is to see during four decades in cricket, as player and as journalist.

Friday night’s unbeaten 87 was Dhoni’s fourth consecutive one-day half-century. The previous three had all come in losing causes; this one will therefore remain particularly special. Marshalling a young team can test the mettle of the most hardened leader; Dhoni wasn’t unaware of the need to make a statement, to lead from the front, to set the example.

A cautious beginning, an industrious middle phase marked by frenetic running, and a final flourish as he cut loose exemplified Dhoni’s reading of the situation, the pitch and the conditions. Typically, after the innings and after the victory, the skipper retained his famed equanimity. There was relief that the losing streak had been snapped, but there was awareness that only the first step had been taken towards victory. Now, if only he could win some more tosses!