MS Dhoni back to Top in ODI Rankings

[rahul_parab2006]

MUMBAI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has succeeded where Anil Kumble had failed. India’s ODI captain has reached a new peak in his ODI career by beating Sri Lanka in a bilateral series in the island nation for the first time ever. In the process, he has also destroyed the myth of M&M, which had formed a deadly combination against India in the Tests.

The ODI series win is a new feather in Dhoni’s cap. Having led India to victories in Twenty20, CB Series, he has now guided his young guns to a virtually unthinkable series win. That the victory came one match before the completion of five-ODI series is demonstrative of the unflappable fighting spirit and the determination of the young team. The fact that India clinched the series after losing the first match shows the fighting character of Dhoni’s boys.

Having lost the Test series, India were under pressure going into the ODIs. Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, the later in particular, looked unplayable. But Dhoni ensured that Murali-Mendis magic did not work in the ODIs. The captain himself led from the front, scoring 76 and 71, the scores coming when the chips were down. The first attempt was a man-of-the-match effort.

India’s chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar was effusive in his praise of the young captain.
“Never should this triumph be underestimated in the history pages of one-day cricket.
This is outstanding stuff. To beat Sri Lanka at home is quite tough and we did so splendidly,” he said after India’s win. “Dhoni played two knocks in this tournament which should never be forgotten. He showed everyone how Mendis has to be tackled. He was very clear in his thinking and led superbly.”

Dhoni’s captaincy has had a mix of both success and failure — he lost the bilateral home series against Australia last year, the tri-series in Dhaka and then Asia Cup. But his victories came on bigger platforms. He led India to T20 world cup win in South Africa last year and early this year Dhoni achieved what was thought too difficult. His young guns humbled Australia in Australia and now have registered a first series win in Sri Lanka.

Where Dhoni scored over Kumble was in convincing his team that the Mendis is not unplayable. The Test captain failed to inspire the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, who looked clueless against Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner in the Test series.

On Friday, India take on Sri Lanka in the five ODI, with the hosts keen on reducing the margin of defeat. It’ll be interesting to see how Dhoni approaches the game and whether he can inspire the team when there’s little interest left.

Source : DNA India