WINNING THE TOSS: This was a definite match winner at the MCG on Sunday. Dhoni called heads and heads it was. As South African skipper AB de Villiers repeatedly said, and Dhoni seconded, the wicket was too slow in the afternoon and revved up towards the evening, making it difficult for the Proteas to chase down the huge total under the lights. As Dhoni later said: “It was definitely a two-paced wicket right from the start. Under the lights it quickened up a bit and we were able to get a bit more swing.”
CAUTION OVER FIREWORKS: This sorted in the mind top order is getting to be India’s mainstay. These watchful, patient, courageous and sound gentlemen of the game are a new breed. And mind you, they are young enough to be easy victims to fatal flamboyance. If Kohli moulded his game, chose his pace, shifted gears and changed roles to get Pakistan off the radar in Adelaide, Shikhar Dhawan did the same at the MCG and to a much more fearsome bowling attack. The run rate was below 4 till late into the 14th over but that didn’t ruffle the duo. The build-up was evenly paced and chinkless. “The general tendency of openers is, after the 25th over, they like to play the big shots. They think their job is over. But in these conditions once you are set you have to make the most of it. So it was good on Shikhar’s part to make sure he stays until the end,” Dhoni said.
DHAWAN’S CENTURY: Dhawan was struggling for a long time, but come World Cup and he is back with his natural talent on display. His score looked handsome against Pakistan and he bettered it tremendously against South Africa, scoring a very well thought out 137 and staying at the crease without angst, hurry or wantonness. “Shikhar has been putting in effort in the net sessions, and as I said, a lot of times people talk about form, but form is something nobody sees. It’s just a matter of 15, 20 minutes (and it’s back). Today he was batting the way he bats when it was there to play the big shots, he play them. He was also rotating the strike. He made sure that once he got his hundred he was still at the crease so it was easier for the other batsmen, also. It’s important if you get a hundred and you are able to score 130 or 140 runs you always see the team getting those extra 20 or 25 runs,” Dhoni said.
RAHANE’S CONTRIBUTION: He is the quietest, shyest man in the team at best with monosyllabic answers. He holds no claim to any position in the field and does his job without much of a fuss. Demoted down the order at Adelaide, he showed what he is capable of at MCG, scoring a robust 79 off 60 balls coming in at No 4, a position often put out of his grasp. The soft spoken Mumbaikar showed how majestic he could get given a chance on the big stage. If it was self-belief that India were talking about on match eve, Rahane walked the talked to good results, adding 127 runs with Dhawan in 16.3 overs before Steyn got him on the thigh before the stumps. “Ajinkya has improved, irrespective of the format. He’s one who’s not rigid and is open to ideas. Also, he’s one of the fittest guys. You see him on the field, he’s very quick and his intensity actually never drops right from the first over until the 90th over if you see a Test match, that’s what fitness is all about. He’s not somebody who owns a position. Wherever there is opportunity he’s willing to go there. As for his batting, his timing and exploitation is fantastic. It’s good to see him get runs,” Dhoni said.
PARTNERSHIPS: The two partnerships that India stitched up at MCG were fantastic. After Rohit Sharma was run out when India was just nine and the janata was palpitating along with the Indian scoreboard, Virat Kohli and Dhawan chose quiet caution to steadily add 127 runs in 24.2 overs. When Kohli fell into the hands of du Plassis at short midwicket without much of a provocation by Tahir, it was Ajinkya’s turn to contribute and make a firm statement about responsibility at No 4, a slot often put out of his reach. He did so with 79 runs and by building a partnership of 123 runs in 16.3 overs with Dhawan. Dhoni had no hesitation in pointing out that if there are sound partnerships there are sound victories.
THE INTENSITY TO WIN: The body language is different. The passion is spilling over; the enormity of the task is well realised and the plans are being conceived and executed beautifully. This intensity to win in Team India was on full display at the 2011 world Cup and is more than evident this time too. So what’s the secret of this energy DhoniIJ “We kept it simple. We knew it would be slightly tough for us to turn it on, because we would be here for four and a half months. We wanted to test our players in the Tri-Series. There were quite a few who were injured. We kept the intensity a bit low during the Tri-Series. The World Cup right at the corner was much more important to us and we had to make sure people with niggles didn’t come into the World Cup. We put in a lot of effort and time in these 15 players. The 10-day break also helped. We requested for a few centre wicket packets. That was provided to us, and we gained a lot out of it. We had a few long practice sessions, but we made sure that in between we have complete day off. We have managed all these things well, and a lot of credit needs to the support staff because to have the dressing room atmosphere despite the type of losses we have is something difficult, and not to forget, we get criticised a lot when we are not doing well. You may ignore it to whatever extent, but it still plays a part,” Dhoni explained.
PRECISION BOWlING: This is the most surprising and the most beautiful part of the completeness of this Indian team. Always the punch bags of the media, the not so fast Indian quicks have made a tremendous turnaround. They kept Pakistan completely chained and with South Africa, they made sure they do not give width, bowl bouncers and generally give a push to the required run rate of the opposition. “The bowlers quickly assessed the right length to bowl and didn’t give too much room. When it was swinging, they made sure they bowled tight length and when it stopped swinging, they kept bowling close. They never gave any extra width to the batsmen and SA batsmen love that extra width. In the first 10 overs this was definitely one of our bowlers’ best performances in the recent past,” Dhoni said.
FlAWlESS FIElDING: Generally, it is the South Africans who take the bouquets home for fielding. But they dropped Shikhar at 53, thanks to the mess created by a fumbling Amla. The Indians, on the other hand, threw themselves at everything and anything. Their bowlers — Mohit and Shami — got two runouts and match-changing ones at that. Mohit threw right at the stumps to send back De Villiers and Shami did the same with danger man David Miller. Fitness, Dhoni says, has seen an amazing improvement what with better technology and focus. This team is agile, it is fit and it is restricting runs in the outfields. “I can spend more time to strategise now that I know my players don’t need to be moved around,” Dhoni said.
SKIPPER MS DHONI: He has been smiling and has reason too. The master strategist has created the World Cup fever in his men yet again. He has plans and executes them with a cool but furiously thinking mind and this is paying off. Under Dhoni, who has been somewhat struggling with his bat for some time now, Team India has guide that can show them the way to the top.