Dhoni’s Epitaph Etched by Kohli?

Handing over baton to someone who deserves it

Why M.S. Dhoni’s retirement makes sense:

The light had not gone out of the day, yet. India had ridden the torrential barrage, somehow drifting ashore, as the sharking Aussies, had agreed to a truce, a radical and unfathomable shift from the relentless onslaught they had unleashed with both wood and leather, bruising both minds and bodies.

As M.S. Dhoni strolled off the pitch, a wicket in tow, eliciting a broad smile from Warner, he appeared very much the custodian of the game’s ethos of healthy cohabitation within the sacred boundaries, encircled by the chastity of the pure white ropes, culminating in a punishing stairway, designed to forgo , and ascend .

And yet, one couldn’t help but cast their minds back to a grimacing, Virat Kohli descending from the undulating slabs of concrete, in the aftermath of a herculean effort on the treacherous terrain of Adelaide, partaking in the customary handshakes, smarting from the pangs of a self-inflicted wound, proud at having fallen, hunting for a win, and not getting robbed, while shutting shop for a draw.

It might not have heralded the advent of a new dawn for Indian cricket, the present rut pointing to the tailing of the shadows of indecisiveness, the spectre of self-deprecation, plaguing the rank and file of a team in tatters on foreign shores, to a unit exorcising their ‘bouncing’ demons or flummoxing batting maestros.

It did point to an unearthing of a retaliatory general, whose blade shines just a bit brighter when encumbered with daunting propositions, an enforcer on whose shoulders Team India can rest the burgeoning aspirations of attaining edifying conquests.

"I changed my mind a couple of times. I wasn't quite sure when to pull out. But I didn't really want to give India a crack with the batters they had in the shed and how good that wicket was." -Steven Smith(Australian Captain)

Why Virat Kohli taking charge makes sense:

Contrary to what the Australians believe, Virat Kohli, barring the ball he edged to Watson, who displayed another specimen of hands glistened by grease, a chronic problem afflicting the Aussies nowadays, seemed unperturbed and exhibited some exquisite stroke play in both the innings, reveling in the unpleasant moniker of a ‘spoilt brat’.

The way he dispatched three bouncers from Johnson to the ropes in a single over, mimicked the dynamic shared by the duo, which has acquired confrontational and abrasive contours, a far cry from the cordial exchange, after the vicious high riser, that had greeted him on his arrival.

It is this very feistiness augmenting his hubris, which rubs people the wrong way, but enflames his desire to succeed, a tonic which an Indian outfit devoid of any confidence needs, the inculcation of a siege mentality, even allowing room for some verbal bickering, if it arouses some sleeping embers in this lackadaisical team. M.S. Dhoni the man with icy veins has been rightly proclaimed as ‘captain cool’. Unflinching, detached and always composed, he has been instrumental in resurrecting Indian Cricket, propelling it to an unprecedented zenith, in all formats of the game. His calculated maneuvers and reasoned approach, was pivotal in rejuvenating the team in the aftermath of the debacle that was World Cup, 2007.Lauded for his foresight in limited overs cricket, he has been found out when it comes to optimal utilization of his bowling troops in the purest rendition, barring aberrations like Ishant Sharma’s ‘bodygate’, acting as a reticent passerby, shrouded in a pensive exterior.

Moreover an overseas average of a shade under thirty, and an eroding wicket- keeping prowess, point to a diminished ability to dictate proceedings, leaving the scope for a new incumbent who has garnered respect on the back of some stellar performances, and has laid waste to the claim that the Indian team needs an incubating period gestated by a fatherly figure, for the contender to the throne may wilt under pressure.

To the contrary, Kohli’s counter punches have deflated Aussie spirits, veering them off course, making them settle for a series win rather than going hammer and tongs for a vengeful whitewash. M.S. Dhoni will stride into the annals of cricketing history, for his glorious exploits, as an exemplary leader, who galvanized Indian cricket. But, as he so much sauntered of the ground, after a final slog, a stark contrast to his swashbuckling initiation, into the cricketing fraternity, his epitaph may have been carved not by his sheltering of a floundering tail, the somber smile on accomplishing a fruitful travail , but on the dusty track of Adelaide, where a man’s failed last stand may have lost him the war, but won him the battle, the battle for change.