3 recent performances of MS Dhoni which shows his decline

MS Dhoni has been a gargantuan in Indian cricket. Captain Cool, finisher par excellence and one of the smartest brains the game has ever seen. Dhoni has also transformed Indian cricket over the last decade by bringing in some inspirational changes to the side. He has won everything under the sun by becoming the first captain to win all the 3 major ICC tournaments followed by a Test Mace, IPL and CL T20.

As a batsman, Dhoni has batted in the lower middle order. When he first came in, he batted with an element of swagger by nonchalantly marauding sixes and forged a powerful combination with Yuvraj to finish close games for India. Dhoni's 91 in the 2011 World cup final against Sri Lanka is part of Indian cricket's folklore. He has been a master in finishing games in the last over and his consistency as a finisher is unparalleled. Dhoni became the first batsman to score 10000 runs in ODI cricket at an average of 50. Considering his insane wicket keeping skills, he is one of the biggest match winners in limited overs cricket.

The last couple of years has been disappointing as he has struggled to get going against the spinners in the middle overs. His ability to hit sixes has remained, but he has been unsuccessful in setting up the platform that is needed to go big during the death overs.

Here are some innings which show his waning skills.

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#1 MSD scores 54 from 114 balls against the Windies

Windies won the toss in the 4th ODI in Antigua, in the 2017 series and elected to bat first on a slow wicket. They got off to a decent start with both openers scoring 35 each. They lost wickets at regular intervals and managed to score 189. The target was never going to challenge a strong Indian batting line up, even though the wicket was expected to slow down more in the second half.

India had a terrible start losing Dhawan, Kohli and Karthik in quick succession. Rahane and Dhoni resurrected the innings before Rahane was dismissed for 60. Windies spinners were bowling tight lines and Dhoni couldn't get a move on through strike rotation. He could manage just one boundary and scored the slowest fifty for India in 16 years - in 101 balls. He was eventually dismissed for a below par 54 off 114 balls and India shockingly fell short by 11 runs and got bowled out for 178, handing the Windies a surprise win.

Dhoni's inability to tread the field with singles or go for the big shots in the middle overs was seen as one of the reasons why India lost this game

#2 MSD scores 37 from 59 balls against England

MS Dhoni played a slow knock of 37 against England at Lord's

After having been schooled by India in Nottingham, England were under pressure to perform in the second ODI at Lord's. Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to bat first. Many experts thought his decision would backfire. England responded well and kept Kuldeep Yadav and company at bay and mustered 322. Joe Root played a classy innings of 113 and held the innings together. 323 was seen as a good challenge for this Indian batting lineup before the World Cup.

India started of well with Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan adding 49 in 8 overs. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina resurrected the innings after the loss of the openers and KL Rahul. Kohli was extremely crucial in this chase, considering his ability to pace an innings during a run chase. Once Kohli was dismissed, people pinned their hopes on MS Dhoni who has seen India through on numerous chases.

Dhoni struggled against the duo of Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali. He was unable to rotate the strike and also hit the boundaries. The asking rate was going out of control with every passing over and Dhoni did not show any intent to up the run rate. Even though he completed a personal milestone of 10,000 ODI runs, he played a futile innings of 37 from 59 balls. This led to a section of the crowd to "boo" Dhoni off the ground after he was dismissed.

#3 MSD scores 36 from 67 balls against Bangladesh

MS Dhoni failed to finish the game against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup final

After rolling over oppositions in the group stages, India ventured into the final of the Asia Cup in Dubai and were facing a spirited Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl. Bangladesh got off to a flyer and added 120 in 22 overs. Liton Das played an impressive innings of 121 in 117 balls and held the innings together. After a good start, wickets kept falling at regular intervals and Bangladesh could only manage 222. Looking at India's batting form, experts felt this would be a stroll in the park.

India got off to a quick start scoring 35 runs in 5 overs before Dhawan was dismissed. Once Rohit Sharma got out for 48 with the scoreboard reading 83 for the loss of 3 wickets, India were under pressure and the stage was set for Dhoni, with his vast experience, to guide India home. Dhoni started his innings on a slow note and with a couple of hits to the fence, he moved to 23 off 33 balls at one point of time in his innings.

After the dismissal of Dinesh Karthik, Dhoni partnered with Kedar Jadhav, who looked to up the ante. Dhoni meanwhile went into a shell and slowed down the innings as he was unable to score off the spinners. Once Jadhav got injured, Dhoni, in a quest to improve the run-rate, got dismissed for a scratchy 36 off 67 balls.

India had to still score 63 runs and Jadeja and Bhvneshwar Kumar stitched a partnership of 50 runs. India chased down 223 in the 50th over with some sensible batting in the end from Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav. Even though India triumphed in the tournament, the middle order and especially Dhoni failed to finish the game leaving the lower order with a lot to do.

Looking ahead into the future

MS Dhoni has arguably been the best finisher in ODIs. Going purely by current form, he is no longer the finisher he once was. He has become more of a grafter and finds it difficult to get going against spin at the start of the innings. If he wants to play a crucial role in the upcoming 2019 World Cup, he needs to find an aggressive option to get going - something he did in the 2018 IPL, where he was smashing sixes for fun.