Analysis of Dhoni's art of batsmanship

[SK_IH]

Lots of debates going on about his style , his tuk tuks etc.I think we can have a comprehensive debate ,consolidating everything in this thread.I will not touch upon his wicket keeping and intangibles like advises/general mentoring on the field because its just the batting that polarizes opinion about his place in the side.

 

Note : Not bothered about stats,just the style of batting and the attendant positives and negatives.

 

Dhoni , the batsman:

Positives:

 

• I think in the last two series ,its apparent he is needed in the side.He has always been a master of ODI format and knows how to remain in the game and not throw it away.The chases in  SL albeit mediocre totals ,once gain emphasized the importance of Dhoni in this side ,because deep down even the critics knew till he is there we are in the game.
• Coming to yesterday's game,watching the match I was also infuriated when he was playing those dots but eventually we reached a fighting respectable score.It was majorly thanks to Pandya's assault but when got out at the score of 205 ,it was still way below par.But once again the style of playing till the last ball of the innings helped and fighting total was reached
• Combining both 1st and 2nd point,one quality that one can ascribe to Dhoni is the art of building partnerships in Limted overs cricket.his sole aim in any limited overs format is to build partnerships and take the game deep and give himself and his team a chance.This attitude dates back to his 1st tournament as captain,WT20,2007.Remember the game vs Pakistan,when we were tottering at 20 odd for 3, he build a partnership with Uthapaa ,Dhoni was the sedate partner but eventually a respectable target was reached.Similarly in a must win game against SA,again we were in trouble ,yet again he played a key role in a match winning partnership with Rohit and yet again he played second fiddle.This quality is still intact and was on display yet again yesterday.
• I have been reading this nonsense a lot since yesterday that because Faulkner was there Dhoni was able to catch up in the Ind.To all those critics,if you have followed Dhoni's career, this has been the generally the case.He most of the time targets such bowlers and tries to gain maximum out of them.But its not the case that he cant hit other bowlers when he wants to.Yesterday that six over covers was refreshing to see and there is also a clear change in technique as well as set up when he bats these days , meaning there is an effort to evolve.

 

Now on to the Negatives that invite criticism:

 

• As mentioned earlier, his tactics playing sedate partner in partnerships and trying to be there till the end to maximize the runs till 50 overs ,brings one question to mind.Why his partner has to show some intent always and he becomes stagnant in the process of remaining there till the end.This question mark will remain with him ,because he has done that throughout his career.And I don’t think we will see any improvement in this regard with his batting especially while setting up totals.There was this thought that once he relinquishes captaincy he might change his attitude and play a bit more adventurously but obviously that was false belief. In a way he thinking of the team first that he should be there in the end and add extra 20-30 runs but with deteriorating abilities he fails to execute perfectly.

• The most irritating part about his approach, is the proclivity hold back a bit longer than he should before going for the slog.Yesterday I thought he would open up post 45 overs mark atleast but he didnt and even Bhuvi helped him immensely during that period.The fact that he started going for runs only from 47 overs onwards is something thats not up to the mark and he needs to be more proactive in this regard specilaly on flatter wickets.

• Thirdly,it was nice to see him finish and chase those mediocre totals in SL but I have this big question mark on his art of batsmanship,when we will be chasing 300-350 kind of scores in near future.There is no scope of sedate batting at that time , there will be greater need of intent.Partnerships will still be the key in chases as always but his proclivity of playing dots and just being there can be a major handicap those situations.Major increase in RRR will eventually lead to wickets and such a situation should not forced upon any batsman. Obviously these are my assumptions what could happen in bigger chases with Dhoni but hopefully its not the case.

 

Overall, to sum up he is an ATG ODI bat and still deserves his place in the side for his batting as well.He has these negatives attached to his art of batsmanship ,which will always be brought forth when he fails to execute.There is also this discussion going on about batting at no.4 may be ideal for kind of batting he does these days but I like him coming at no.5 but not below than that.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by SK_IH

[sergio04]

he can play at 4

but he has to score run a ball

not these (11 of 29) type start 

and should start hitting near 37 over .

 

[rkt.india]

Consolidating to take the game deep is good but problem arises with number of dot balls, just too many. No one is asking him to blast when score is 87/5 but bit more strike rotation will be good.  You can bat at 50-60 SR for more than half the innings.

[SK_IH]

12 minutes ago, rkt.india said:

Consolidating to take the game deep is good but problem arises with number of dot balls, just too many. No one is asking him to blast when score is 87/5 but bit more strike rotation will be good.  You can bat at 50-60 SR for more than half the innings.

the aim is to play risk free cricket and elongate the innings and in process he becomes ultra cautious.That he has his own limitations with the bat also hinders strike rotation sometimes.Even during the match I thought he was in his shell for 2-3 more overs than he should have been.

[goose]

he starts off slow, unacceptably slow, but he never gets out until he's done getting his strike rate right up there. it's remarkable how he does this time and again. whatever method he has has to be respected. you can't make runs when you're out and he's found an almost surefire way to stay in.

[Shunya]

As a full package with multiple skills, nobody is as good as Dhoni in our ODI team, and this has been the case for years now. He has been used as a floater throughout his career and that is something which is very hard to find a replacement for. People who have some sort of experience of playing high level cricket would know how much a nightmare it is to float around as per situation demands. 4,5,6,7 - All these positions require multiple skills, temperament, hitting abilities, running between the wickets, fitness. We have recently started testing different players(KL, Pandey, Kedar, Pandya) using them in different positions to groom them to become Yuvis and Dhonis of our middle order who can play in all situations. It is a killing job to do.

[putrevus]

Why is Dhoni reluctant to bat at no4 is beyond me, at this juncture that is the best spot for him.

[MCcricket]

Coward hides behind his partners n tailenders, he has lost his touch ,game, stroke making ability, has been a liabitity for last 5 years

[Muloghonto]

On 9/17/2017 at 10:43 PM, sergio04 said:

he can play at 4

but he has to score run a ball

not these (11 of 29) type start 

and should start hitting near 37 over .

 

11 of 29 starts is just fine if the next 89 runs come at 71 balls. Slow start is not a problem if there is a good finish. 

[mishra]

Problem lies with assumption that wicket keeper must be match winner while rest of batting order is laying eggs. Most of our batting order should have only match winner before we can start pointing finger on MSD.

[velu]

The Art of batting - Sun Tzu MSD

[Kerberos]

22 hours ago, putrevus said:

Why is Dhoni reluctant to bat at no4 is beyond me, at this juncture that is the best spot for him.

At this juncture its the worst spot for him. 

[Kerberos]

31 minutes ago, mishra said:

Problem lies with assumption that wicket keeper must be match winner while rest of batting order is laying eggs. Most of our batting order should have only match winner before we can start pointing finger on MSD.

Egg Laying other batsmen are the ones who are still winning matches. Not Dhoni.Dhoni has been a great support only. Yesterday also it was Pandya's innings.

[The Dark Horse]

The fact that he's the captain has given him the leverage to choose his batting position. Except Kohli who's the star player, he has shunted all the other players up and down the order to his benefit. Can't complain much as most of his tactics worked. May be he understood his strengths and weaknesses. However,  someone like Raina has been affected by this approach. Played selflessly but now is no more a part of the setup because of random shuffling.

[mishra]

31 minutes ago, Kerberos said:

Egg Laying other batsmen are the ones who are still winning matches. Not Dhoni.Dhoni has been a great support only. Yesterday also it was Pandya's innings.

Who are the match winners from batting order, Can you list please? Also, Are we saying that Pandya a match winner batsman?

[gakgupta]

20 minutes ago, The Dark Horse said:

The fact that he's the captain has given him the leverage to choose his batting position. Except Kohli who's the star player, he has shunted all the other players up and down the order to his benefit. Can't complain much as most of his tactics worked. May be he understood his strengths and weaknesses. However,  someone like Raina has been affected by this approach. Played selflessly but now is no more a part of the setup because of random shuffling.

 

Raina should push little harder and make some good scores in domestic games....

He will be the first choice player for selectors, if he improve his fitness because of below factors

1) Ample amount of Intl Exp

2) He can bowl part time  

3) Wonderful fielder

[putrevus]

2 hours ago, Kerberos said:

At this juncture its the worst spot for him. 

how so? he has no explosion and will consume lot of balls  early in his innings.He has no chance at 5 or 6. 

[Khota]

Pad your stats against minnows.

Fails when it matters.

Point that your average is so good.

Oh I wish life was so easy.

[wanted_desi]

When Dhoni comes to bat, he only got one motive: To score as many as runs for himself to keep his average up. To do so, he will play dot balls, doesn't matter what situation is, it works wonders if he is chasing a small target. If he is chasing a decent score, he will make sure that India has no chance of getting to that targert. For example, during WC 2015 semi final when he came to bat after Raina falling, India still had outside chance if someone plays a blinder. But his TUK TUK batting made sure that by 40th over there was no way in hell India would be anywhere close to winning even 4 wickets were still remaining. 

Edited September 19, 2017 by wanted_desi

[Khota]

14 hours ago, wanted_desi said:

When Dhoni comes to bat, he only got one motive: To score as many as runs for himself to keep his average up. To do so, he will play dot balls, doesn't matter what situation is, it works wonders if he is chasing a small target. If he is chasing a decent score, he will make sure that India has no chance of getting to that targert. For example, during WC 2015 semi final when he came to bat after Raina falling, India still had outside chance if someone plays a blinder. But his TUK TUK batting made sure that by 40th over there was no way in hell India would be anywhere close to winning even 4 wickets were still remaining. 

I could not have said it any better. dhoni is currently playing to stay alive. He like me knows that other 5 wktkeepers are better than him.