Dhoni's keeping...

[kooljatt]

i've been really impressed with dhoni's keeping in this whole aus tour...i think he has just dropped 1 catch during the whole tour...which was today..some ppl might go on to talk about hist batting failure during the test series, but he has done brilliantly as a keeper... simple techniqe ...great results not diving over the ball like karthick...:giggle:

[Sachinism]

dhoni's keeping has just improved soo much since he started he's a very very good keeper now, getting among the best

[Dravid]

lol..karthik...tehy converted him into a fielder..and make him keep at banglore i think? aus..its ez to keep dude... btw there is a dhoni keeping thread..

[fineleg]

KKD was a very good keeper, but by making him field at other positions, he's messed up now

[chanakya]

Hope the Aussies are doing the same to Haddin :D

[kooljatt]

Dhoni leads from front LIKE his celebrated Test teammate V. V. S. Laxman, India's one-day captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, prefers to be known simply by his initials. At the MCG yesterday, M. S. might have stood for master skipper. Dhoni's leadership was highly impressive as his young team put Australia to the sword, reducing the world champions of the 50-over format to a mediocre 159 on a toothless batting pitch and, for the first time in the tri-series, perfect cricket weather. It's early days, but India appears to have backed a winner by entrusting this flamboyant wicketkeeper batsman with the captaincy of first the Twenty20 team and the one-day version late last year. He immediately delivered the Twenty20 World Cup and is now setting about proving that it was no fluke. Having lost the toss yesterday, he went straight into full-on attack mode, posting three slips for each of his two young new-ball bowlers, Shanth Sreethanth and Ishant Sharma, and telling both to come at the powerful Australian batting order with all guns blazing. This paid an immediate dividend, albeit thanks to a dreadful decision by another fading international umpire, South African Rudi Koertzen, who fired Adam Gilchrist lbw for a third ball duck despite a thick inside edge. The crowd groaned in dismay, especially Gilly's parents, who were guests of the Melbourne Cricket Club for this stop on his farewell tour, which has become one of the main reasons to go the cricket. For the tourists , this was just the launching pad they needed to go in search of revenge for their humiliation in the Twenty20 match at the great stadium nine days previously. From there, the wickets tumbled quickly, mainly to Sharma, who removed Matty Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds in seven overs that began so expensively it would have been no surprise if Dhoni had banished him after only two or three of them. The captain kept the faith - and was rewarded accordingly as Sharma proved again that he is a star in the making. And as the game swung heavily his way, Dhoni opted for the unusual tactic of switching Sreethan to the other end just when it seemed obvious that the aggressive young tearaway was due for a spell. Dhoni wasn't just calling the shorts - he was playing them, too, with four smart catches and a stumping. This is his 99th one-dayer and he is not just good at it, he is probably the nearest thing there is in world cricket to the retiring Gilchrist in this format. He averages 43 and has a strike-rate of 94, whereas Gilchrist averages in the mid-30s and scores at 96. Two years ago Dhoni smashed Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper, 172, when he smashed 183 not out from 145 balls with 10 sixes against Sri Lanka. He's no part-timer with the gloves, either, impressing during the Test series with footwork that compared more than favourably with the Australian's fading efforts. At 26, his game is still developing and there were some fears that fast-tracking him into the one-day captaincy - there was serious speculation he might also get the Test job until, wisely, the veteran Anil Kumble was given it - might be asking too much. But he is regarded and intelligent and progressive and it is no co-incidence that the vastly experienced Sachin Tendulkar has survived a new youth policy and stands beside him at first slip as often as possible. Dhoni himself pushed strongly for a young and vibrant outfit, has been given it, and now he has to make it work in the absence of the old sweats like Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble and Laxman. Last night was a big step in that direction. reedr@heraldsun.com.au http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23191393-11088,00.html