like all Indians, MS Dhoni too is sheepish taking compliments. “You can call it a fluke,” he said with a smile when he was praised for his diving catch which packed off Tamim Iqbal in the quarterfinal match at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday which also marked his 100th win as ODI skipper.
Though individually, his bat did not do any talking with Dhoni returning for just six runs in his 100th, it has been more about “we” than “I” in this tournament which has been his biggest achievement, and which has catapulted India into the league of great teams of this tournament.
“I think what’s important for us is we have scored runs in all the games. Whether we have batted first or chased, and still, we don’t have our batsmen in the top five run scorers list for the World Cup. This means everybody has chipped in, everybody has contributed, which is a good position to be in, especially in the knockout stages,” he said.
Simple, isn’t itIJ But simplicity, Dhoni says, is the most difficult asset to assemble in modern cricket. “Keeping it simple is the most difficult. We’ll have to keep repeating what we’ve been doing, as simple as that. You win a game, whatever you’ve done right, you’ve to keep repeating. Maybe the individuals who get the wickets will change. The batsmen who score, the names will change, but still, we are scoring runs and we are taking wickets. That will be good for us,” Dhoni added, speaking about how basics are more winnable than flashy pyrotechnics.
That Dhoni on Thursday is in a happy space is largely due to what his bowlers have achieved and that’s not just about bowling all teams out in all matches even though it is an incredible achievement. The more important change that has come over them is in the mind. First they heard and now they believe in what the skipper has been trying to convey to them.
“When they get a chance to bowl, they want to bowl everything in that spell - in-swing, outswing, yorkers, everything. But now, they have learned the importance of just keep hitting that one area, building pressure and building partnerships. That’s where the batsmen gets out. I feel bowlers have really tasted it and now they believe in it. Seeing it is one thing, believing it is something that’s more important because once you believe in something, the subconscious keeps working on it and it becomes part of the system,” he added.
Not just the World Cup but this belief will go a long way in helping India do better in those away Test series which have not been going their way. “I’m hoping that they learn from this, and when they come back again, irrespective of where we play, a Test series outside the subcontinent, it will help them. They are bowling at good pace, all of them are fit, and if they can keep hitting that one area, it will be good because that’s something where we have been lacking,” Dhoni said. That’s quite a cool thought, or process, that Dhoni has scripted (and left behind for successor Virat Kohli) despite quitting without a premise from Test cricket in the middle of an away series.