Dhoni's Captaincy : Reaping what he sowed

[rabinjackman]

DhoniÃÔ patently defensive style has finally begun to hurt India bad There are several aspects to IndiaÃÔ performance in Melbourne and Sydney. MS DhoniÃÔ captaincy is just one. But the defeats have brought his tactics under the scanner. The pundits are unanimous: heÃÔ too defensive. However, only one former captain Steve Waugh has acknowledged that this was DhoniÃÔ style to begin with. You can trace it back to his first game as IndiaÃÔ full-time Test captain. In the Nagpur Test against Australia in 2008, Dhoni put eight fielders on the off-side and told his bowlers to bowl wide outside the off-stump all day. It paid off. The Australians were thrown off gear, managed just 166 runs in the day, went on to lose the game and the series one of the very few they had lost that decade. While that instance had a touch of DhoniÃÔ genius, the subsequent ones did not. Modern-day Epidemic Among an assortment of defensive tactics, greeting new batsmen at the crease with fielders on the boundary isnÃÕ DhoniÃÔ specialty. Nearly every captain today loves this deplorable tactic including Michael Clarke in the on-going series. But only Dhoni has let it shroud his otherwise crystal-clear thinking into surrendering advantageous positions, even whole games. The best example of this was in Cape Town in January last year, when India were in sniffing distance of a historic series win. Jacques Kallis came to bat with a strained side, struggling to play even a forward defensive. Instead Dhoni let him pick singles with ease. Kallis made a hundred, saved the game and the series. Field settings alone donÃÕ reveal this defensive mindset. It showed in Dominica when India prematurely abandoned a chase for 180 runs on the final day. West Indies celebrated the draw with a lap around the ground. It showed in Mohali in 2008 against England, when Gambhir and Yuvraj batted on ("they needed batting practice") when India could have declared early and had a shot at dismissing England. The template repeated in Wellington where India batted longer than they should have. New Zealand were set a ridiculously tough 617 to win and rain saved them on the final day. Huge Costs Those instances didnÃÕ cost India. Deterred by the comfort of the series lead and the euphoria of personal pursuits, they chose to draw those games. That wasnÃÕ the case in Melbourne and Sydney. In Melbourne, Dhoni let AustraliaÃÔ tail-enders prosper in both innings. They were greeted with deep point and long-on, even before they had got off the mark, and before a single shot had gone in those directions. The tail-end added 220-odd runs in the game, a hundred more than the margin India lost by. This, clearly, was the differentiator in the game. In Sydney, Dhoni persisted with part-time bowlers and spread-out fields to Clarke and Mike Hussey, who were only too happy to take the easy runs. It seemed as if Dhoni had had a brain-fade in the middle, and worse, there wasnÃÕ a team-mate in sight who could go up to him to offer useful advice. What Would Dhoni Do? Any hopes of IndiaÃÔ revival in Australia need to begin with Dhoni. And he needs to look no further than his own approach when it came to winning the biggest prize in cricket. Dhoni led from the front, brushed aside his poor form, played a refreshingly attacking knock to bring the World Cup home. It was an all-heart performance, one that reminded us of the essence of sports: win or lose, you have got to play like you meant to win. http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/reaping-what-he-sowed.html

[S0hi]

He should resign from test captaincy, make sehwag as the test captain, let Mr Dhoni handle the LOI as a captain.

[adi B]

he is a bihari, so that says a lot

[Needforspeed]

he is a bihari' date=' so that says a lot[/quote'] Dhoni is born and brought up in Ranchi but his parents belong to Almora district of Uttarakhand. Dhoni is a very good ODI captain. Once India gets a breakthrough, he puts pressure by choking runs and increasing the asking rate. Obviously this approach will not work in Tests.

[rkt.india]

There are several aspects to IndiaÃÔ performance in Melbourne and Sydney. MS DhoniÃÔ captaincy is just one. But the defeats have brought his tactics under the scanner.

Dhoni does not have any tactics.

[jairamesh]

Dhoni's captaincy has always been defensive which works wonders in ODIs and T20s. But in Tests...it's just been gut wrenching. That drawn game against SA in Cape Town still rankles. India had SA down to 130 for 6. Kallis was injured and Boucher out of form, and it was unbelievable field settings letting Kallis and Boucher take easy singles eventually giving SA a 350 plus lead. SA should have been bowled out for 200 odd with Bhajji on song, but weak Ranji Trophy like captaincy let the tailenders add 200 fecking runs!!! It's just mind boggling the regularity of how tailenders have added 150 plus runs vs India in the last two years with so much ease. Anyone have any stats? You would have thought the coaches might provide some highlight this issue.

[zep1706]

Dhoni's captaincy has always been defensive which works wonders in ODIs and T20s. But in Tests...it's just been gut wrenching. That drawn game against SA in Cape Town still rankles. India had SA down to 130 for 6. Kallis was injured and Boucher out of form, and it was unbelievable field settings letting Kallis and Boucher take easy singles eventually giving SA a 350 plus lead. SA should have been bowled out for 200 odd with Bhajji on song, but weak Ranji Trophy like captaincy let the tailenders add 200 fecking runs!!!

Any other side would have got the chokers out for less than 180 from that situation, still hurts when I think about it.

[Tendulkar_Bhai]

he is a bihari' date=' so that says a lot[/quote'] :haha: that is a bit castist! but true..!

[ganeshran]

he is a bihari' date=' so that says a lot[/quote'] :facepalm:

[Chaos]

he is a bihari' date=' so that says a lot[/quote'] This nig*as posts since he joined has been nothing but negative on every single aspect...:blink::blink:

[maniac]

Dhoni unfortunately is the best option we have but his captaincy is definetely overrated... Personally what were his contributions to the T20,WC,No1 test team or other victories that we have had in the last 2-3 years???I am not even talking about on-field performances but as a on-field strategist or as the leader what really has he done to inspire or turn these victories in our favour.... We could have acheived this even with Ishanth or any other name that comes to mind. This is not a fair weather statement but something I have said even in the past... can't find the thread may be merged with some other Dhoni threads but anyways all I am saying is that Dhoni should not be given leeway just because he has been a succesful captain in the past and his performance as a captain especially in test matches should definetely be taken into account.