J P K Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni bat in a chase is a learning experience the way he builds an innings; the way he calms the nerves of the other batsmen; the way he makes them contribute; the way he gives the opposition no chance at all. What the Indian skipper brings to the middle isnÃÕ quantifiable. ItÃÔ simply magic. As he led India to another win in the third ODI against England at Mohali, none of us were surprised. We had seen him do it so many times before, that only if he fails would we question his method. The template of his innings is normally a slow start as he settles in, lots of singles and then he builds to a crescendo. The innings he played in the World Cup final was exactly that it wasnÃÕ a fluke; itÃÔ the way he plays. There are images of Mahendra Singh Dhoni that are stuck in our heads most of them have him holding the bat, hitting the winnings runs. It isnÃÕ a sheer coincidence that he is there so many times at the end, guiding India to victory with a twirl of the bat, a smile on his face and the helicopter shot thrown in for good effect. The science of chasing tactics is something that Dhoni is privy to alone because only he knows what goes on in his head. But the numbers are there for all to see and they are simply astounding. If England wants to win even one match in the series, they will have to get Dhoni out. Getty Images. Fathom this. In ODIs, Dhoni has played 194 matches. Of those matches, heÃÔ not had to bat in 21 games, so that gives him a total of 173 innings. Now, heÃÔ been not out 46 times in these matches. Now, here comes the clincher: Of the 46 times that he has been not out; India has lost just three matches. Just three That gives India a winning percentage of 93.5 per cent when Dhoni is at the wicket. For someone who has been playing ODIs since 2004, that is a frightening statistic. It also shows that he is the best finisher in ODI cricket at present, perhaps even the best the world has ever seen. To most of us who have a keen interest in the game, the best finisher of the game was a certain, Michael Bevan. The Australian was simply superb. He had a keen sense of occasion, knew how to pace his innings and more often than not, he helped Australia to victory. But not even Bevan was as potent as Dhoni is. The Australian played a total of 232 ODIs for Australia and was not out 67 times in 196 innings. But Australia lost 13 matches even when Bevan was around in the end. That gives Bevan a finishing percentage of 80.6. The difference is big. Perhaps one of the reasons for the difference is the strike-rate. While DhoniÃÔ strike-rate is 88.34, Bevan was positively slow in comparison with an SR of 74.16. And come the big match, Dhoni seems to find his best form too. In 11 finals, he has an average of 49.77. Cometh the moment, cometh the man. He just canÃÕ be denied and perhaps because heÃÔ done it so many times before, it just seems like another day at the office to him. For a long time, IndiaÃÔ problems in ODIs used to stem from their inability to finish things off. We would invariably start well but then stall at crucial moments. For a while, Ajay Jadeja filled the slot. Then there was Robin Singh. Even Rahul Dravid had a go but nobody was as good as Dhoni. No one even came close. If one were asked to explain IndiaÃÔ recent success in ODIs in one word, all clues would simply point to Dhoni. As long as heÃÔ around, India has hope. And if he stays in long enough, India will win. So far, thatÃÔ the way itÃÔ been. If England wants to win even one match in the series, they will have to get Dhoni out. Or else they might as well be up a creek without a paddle because they are fighting against the tide and you can rarely ever fight nature and come out triumphant. http://www.firstpost.com/sports/dhoni-is-better-than-bevan-he-is-the-best-finisher-in-the-game-114041.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed Link to comment
Vijay.Sharma Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Exactly what I was thinking yesterday...Dhoni is easily the third best ODI player ever behind Sachin, and Viv...and the best finisher ever ahead of Yuvraj, and Bevan Link to comment
ganeshran Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 In ODIs he is great. Apart from the Saffer series he has done very well everywhere. Great head under pressure and is a finisher. But in tests, he cannot be the bedrock in good bowling conditions Link to comment
bajrang Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 stats dont lile, dhoni is bradman of the finishers. http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?batting_fielding_first=2;class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=batting_average;qualmin1=1000;qualval1=runs;result=1;template=results;type=batting Link to comment
kubrickian Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Its because he is so cool under pressure. He is mentally very tough. Link to comment
rkt.india Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 But yaar Bevan was Bevan.:hatsoff: Link to comment
saneindian Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Not entirely sure. Bevan has so many games for the Aussies batting with the tail. As good as MSD is, he has some way to go before going ahead of Bevan. Will also have to consider the quality of bowling Bevan faced in the 90s Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Pollock, Ambrose, Walsh etc! Link to comment
vvvslaxman Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Not entirely sure. Bevan has so many games for the Aussies batting with the tail. As good as MSD is' date=' he has some way to go before going ahead of Bevan. Will also have to consider the quality of bowling Bevan faced in the 90s Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Pollock, Ambrose, Walsh etc![/quote'] Dhoni has another dimension to his batting which is brutal power hitting that bevan was rarely capable of . His career has 21 sixes. Dhoni hit 10 sixes in a single match. Link to comment
desi.boy Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 dhoni > Sachin in ODIs. tendulkar outscores dhoni in longevity. dhoni a better match winner. dhoni - captain, wk-keeper, fitter, faster between the wkts. tendulkar - an all time great but over-rated among indian fans, not sure whether 'over-rated' is even applicable for all time greats. Link to comment
vvvslaxman Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 dhoni > Sachin in ODIs. tendulkar outscores dhoni in longevity. dhoni a better match winner. dhoni - captain, wk-keeper, fitter, faster between the wkts. tendulkar - an all time great but over-rated among indian fans, not sure whether 'over-rated' is even applicable for all time greats. You have opened a can of worms :cantstop: Link to comment
rkt.india Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Not entirely sure. Bevan has so many games for the Aussies batting with the tail. As good as MSD is' date=' he has some way to go before going ahead of Bevan. Will also have to consider the quality of bowling Bevan faced in the 90s Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Pollock, Ambrose, Walsh etc![/quote'] Agree:two_thumbs_up: Link to comment
rkt.india Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 You have opened a can of worms :cantstop: No..he is just completing his mandatory posts.:cantstop: Link to comment
Andrew Peter Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Who performed better with tail-enders ? Dhoni or Bevan? Cant recall any knock played by Dhoni equivalent to that of Bevan's knock against England during the 2003 WC. Link to comment
vvvslaxman Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Who performed better with tail-enders ? Dhoni or Bevan? Cant recall any knock played by Dhoni equivalent to that of Bevan's knock against England during the 2003 WC. World cup final :winky: Link to comment
ganeshran Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 dhoni > Sachin in ODIs. tendulkar outscores dhoni in longevity. dhoni a better match winner. dhoni - captain, wk-keeper, fitter, faster between the wkts. tendulkar - an all time great but over-rated among indian fans, not sure whether 'over-rated' is even applicable for all time greats. ok Link to comment
Andrew Peter Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 World cup final :winky: So Gautam Gambhir & Yuvraj Singh are tail-enders equivalent to the calibre of Brett Lee & Adam Bichel?:haha: Link to comment
rkt.india Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 ok yaar he is just completing his mandatory posts and SRT bashing is a part of that for everyone. Link to comment
vvvslaxman Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 So Gautam Gambhir & Yuvraj Singh are tail-enders equivalent to the calibre of Brett Lee & Adam Bichel?:haha: If Andy bichel had got out England would have won the match :facepalm: come up with different argument. Bichel that day batted like a top order batsman. That partnership lasted 72 balls. 36 balls faced by Bichel. Unless you can prove Bevan protected Bichel and scores those runs you cannot possibly say Bevan alone won the match. Link to comment
rkt.india Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 If Andy bichel had got out England would have won the match :facepalm: come up with different argument. Bichel that day batted like a top order batsman. That partnership lasted 72 balls. 36 balls faced by Bichel. Unless you can prove Bevan protected Bichel and scores those runs you cannot possibly say Bevan alone won the match. Bichel was a very handy batsman, IMO. Link to comment
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