Dhoni’s forte; India’s loss

The climax on the night of 7^th September (evening at Edgbaston, England) was set to favour India in the only T20 International match of the tour with the ultimate finisher of the shorter version, MS Dhoni – Captain, Indian Cricket team, at crease – with his usual ease. Historic figures had made us believe that Dhoni thrives in such hopeless looking situations for others. The scorecard at the start of the final over read: 17 of 6 balls. On most occasions the punters would put money on fielding side, but for Dhoni with strike and a relatively new bowler, the possible result stood at 50-50 chance to each team. The first ball sixer, that too with a Dhoni swagger, shifted the winning pendulum in India’s favour.

But for Cricket’s sake and for the great leveller this game can be at times, Dhoni miscalculated the scoring rate and perhaps the denial of strike to Rayadu played on his game, when he failed to connect at least one of the last two deliveries that were bowled in his arc to execute the famous helicopter shot. India’s loss surfaced the important aspect of Cricket being a team sport and that no individual can ever claim to have mastered it once for all.

Had it been the case where Rayadu would have denied strike to Dhoni, he would have lost the Indian cap immediately for sure and perhaps been blacklisted for his entire life. But such is the aura of Dhoni that non on the expert’s discussed about it, and perhaps added salt to Rayadu’s wounds by sympathising and labelling him “Poor Rayadu”.