Mahendra Dhoni captains India to CB Series victory

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni models the upside-down sunglasses on hat lookNo Dravid, no Ganguly – no problem. Other players are making the step up and showing the maturity that should go hand-in-hand with seniority, but so often doesn’t.

We were unsure when Mahendra Dhoni was made the captain of India’s one-day team. The extravagant crowd favourite rarely makes the best captain – or maybe it’s just that Ian Botham gave us that opinion.

Dhoni’s character’s at odds with his batting persona however. For a man who can throw the bat as if he doesn’t have a care in the world, he’s a serious, professional captain who demands concentration from his players.

He impressed during India’s Twenty20 World Cup triumph, staying unbelievably calm when the pressure mounted and having the confidence to make unexpected bowling changes with everything on the line.

In this tri-nations series, he’s impressed again. In today’s final he demanded high standards from a fielding side who are often lackadaisical, expressing his displeasure clearly but calmly when he felt someone’s concentration had wavered. But more than that, he seems pragmatic.

Maybe it’s dealing with the ludicrous expectations about his own performances that that’s made him a realist, but he seemed to be one of the few people involved in this irritating Australia-India brouhaha who didn’t see things in black and white. His comments seemed to acknowledge and embrace the greyness that so few others seemed able to find

“If you’re getting provoked then there are ways in which you can reply, so you have to be careful about it. We have youngsters in the side who will learn all these arts.”

No right and wrong there. Just a recognition that it takes two to tango and that you can only control one half of that dance.

DON'T BE LIKE GATT!

Mike Gatting wasn't receiving the King Cricket email when he dropped that ludicrously easy chance against India in 1993.

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12 comments

  1. …and on other side there was captain who refused to see the obvious…and his two shots in two finals are testimony to that…

    along with dhoni special mention must be made of selectors…they often dont get the credit for the thankless job…

    great final!! great win!! not many gave us chance in oz…

  2. For a young buck, he’s doing a grand job!

    Here’s to young bucks everywhere, as the priest said to the bishop!

  3. Why are the Aussies angry? Did he do an interview where he offered to fight one of the Aus players?

  4. Dhoni seems to me to be a classic example of someone who follows the philosophy that you have to dare to lose, to win.

  5. He is shaping up very well and has got good results on his side… the fact that he sees the grey between is true…. two should indeed tango… nice.

  6. Never really tried the tango. I’ve polka-ed with two girls at once, though…which was nice.

  7. “21 million aussies are angry with Mahendra Dhoni.. Sounds like a fair fight..”

    21 mill aussies are scared of Dhoni, I’d say.. a splendid 2-0 victory India over Australia… not to mention the embarrassment the aussies faced from their team who showed their stupidity rambling and swaring like kids in the 5th grade on the cricket field.

    While they really made a fool of themeselces for the world to see, the Indians quietened ’em with style, quietened them with the score, 2- 0, ‘Coz real men do it that way, the kids couldn’t even cackle any longer. Why, Ponting nearly had a tear in his eye. The aging little toot.

  8. Great Going Indians.

    Beating Aussies in Australia was really a Herculean task and full marks to Dhoni for clinching the series.

    The recent series win over Australia is a new addition to an array of memorable moments in 60 yr long cricketing ties b/w India and Australia. Some of the golden moments can be found at http://www.octanmen.com/articleDetail.aspx?Id=106.

    I enjoyed reading. Hope u ll too

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