Dhoni and men show why they are champions
The Indian cricket team is generally not known to win in crunch situations. Often it has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by losing its nerve just when it should have held on to them for dear life. On Thursday, though, we witnessed a new and scintillating side that miraculously rescued itself from the brink of defeat and lifted the Tri-Nation Series trophy. Having run through the Sri lankan side for 201 after its bowlers delivered a sparkling performance and cut short the lankans' march to a big total, the Indian team was about to be beaten when it struggled at 167 for eight. Then the miracle happened. The match had swung back and forth for the most part — after a cautious start, the Indian team had faltered with Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli walking back early; Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik managed to undo some of the loss but just as their partnership gained momentum, it was broken by spinner Rangana Herath. Suresh Raina did his bit but essentially the Indian middle order collapsed fairly quickly — something that did not happen for the first time. Ishant Sharma frittered away the second-last over for a mere two runs, and India needed 15 runs off six balls to win the match.
The men in blue ought to have given up, just as their supporters would have considered doing so. But there still was Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the crease. Because he had just recovered from a hamstring injury he sustained during the first match against West Indies and not played the later two games, no one was sure if he was up to the task. But, once on the field, Dhoni is Dhoni, injury or no injury. He isn't known as ‘Captain Cool' for nothing. He played a skipper's knock. In that last, decisive over, Dhoni let all guns boom at the same time. The boundary lines reverberated with his hits, the audience cheered lustily and the Sri lankan players quickly lost the flush of a victory they had assumed was theirs. Dhoni cracked a six and a four, and hit another one right over the ropes to lift the trophy with a one-wicket win. The Indian captain had steered his team away from near-defeat, and the fact that he scored a 52-ball 45 seemed only another bit of statistics to be recorded for future replays.
India's victory has come on the heels of its Champions Trophy win in England and firmly establishes the team as the best limited overs outfit in the world. Now, they need to pull their socks and learn to be consistent performers in Test cricket as well. They have been winning some and losing some, and that is fair enough, given that even the best Test side does not always win. The problem is that the limited overs mindset appears to be have seeped into our cricketers to the extent that they have begun approaching even Test matches like there is no second day left to play. They play shots that must never ever be seen in Test cricket. The players could more effectively compartmentalise their game and reap the rewards. There is no reason why they cannot rule Test cricket.