Dhoni and his batting style - One of a kind

After watching Sachin paaji, Chennai crowd turn in huge numbers to watch their Super Kings’ captain excel in front of them. M A Chidambaram stadium has always provided excellent contest and some great Test matches. Apart from the opening batsmen, Indian batsmen are all in good form for the 4 match series. Dhoni, in particular was feeling at home when he stepped in to build a crucial partnership with Virat Kohli, who showed how important it is for him to score against Australia. Dhoni’s historic 224 in the first Test triggered the debate of his batting style and how he could easily manage run-a-ball innings, where Pujara, Sachin and Kohli built the innings.

We always say – “Form is temporary, Class is permanent”. I believe this statement does not apply to MS Dhoni. He neither worries about the form, nor about the class and very few can play with the mindset that Dhoni has. Adam Gilchrist achieved it with a strong batting technique but then he never modify his game according to different situations like Dhoni. Steve Waugh played with such grit throughout his career even when people questioned about his form and class, he used to silence them with a big hundred. I would put Dhoni in similar parlance as Steve Waugh. But Steve can never match the aggression of Dhoni. Sehwag, Gayle and other attacking players in the world cricket, never changed their style like Dhoni and that’s why I feel his style is unique of its kind.

I hardly could recollect from the past incidents when Dhoni has come in at no. 6 in ODIs and didn’t finish the innings for us successfully. There was always a question looming over his Test batting style as he never had or has the technique to survive in swinging conditions. But you cannot bounce Dhoni out, as he is a great hooker and puller of the game. Given the perfect situation in a Test match, he always has played swashbuckling innings, which have turned the match in our favour in one session or two. After the retirement of Indian legends, Dhoni was pushed to change his batting style, where he has to bat minimum 2 sessions without getting out. As a captain, he did it to the best of his abilities.

Dhoni has wide range of strokes and the thing that strikes the most as a viewer is his bat speed and his single minded focus to meet the ball with full face of the bat. His nudges to square leg to pick a run or two of spin bowling makes me wonder how efficiently he could do it. Helicopter shots are more or less reserved for ODIs, reverse sweep comes out more in Tests rather than ODIs. His square drives are fierce and back foot punches may fracture fielder’s hand if they try to stop it. His running between the wickets is never double minded. Statistics would speak for his dismissals via run outs. Ask Lasith Malinga – the successful death bowler, he would point at Dhoni as the toughest to bowl at in death overs. His lofted shots would challenge any big stadium in the world. Dhoni’s paddle shot is so unique, that it makes the cricket experts and viewers wonder in awe, as to how the bat comes so vertical and makes a 360 degree circle. I don’t want to be the wicket-keeper when this shot comes up from Dhoni’s bat.

I am amazed at the way Dhoni keeps his batting style so simple for himself, but makes the viewers marvel. His interview after the first Test speaks volumes about the man. He never imagined himself scoring a double hundred in Test match. Throughout his innings, he would have calculated the first innings lead and time required to pick the 10 wickets of Australian 2nd innings. He kept the scoreboard ticking along and had those crucial partnerships with tail-enders.

Dhoni’s batting style in Tests has got lot to do with the self belief. VVS Laxman would have exposed the tail more and given them confidence, thereby building a partnership. Dhoni takes most of the strike and protects the team’s tail, as he showed in the Chennai Test, when he batted with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and others. May he play more such innings in all forms of the game, especially in Test cricket, as it would attract more crowds and keep the Test cricket alive.