No Sign of Dressing-Room Worries, for Mahendra Singh Dhoni Victory is Key

India's shocking defeats against Bangladesh in the first two one-day internationals had opened up a proverbial can of worms. After the first ever bilateral series loss against the Tigers, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's private coach had alleged the Indian limited overs captain was too tense over the atmosphere in the dressing-room and was unable to focus on the game. (Scorecard | Highlights)

 

Dhoni, who had retired from Test cricket late last year during the Australia tour, became the first Indian captain to lose two back-to-back ODIs and had the wicketkeeper batsman had even offered to step aside as ODI captain if it guaranteed success. It did not help matters tha Virat Kohli's coach Raj Kumar Sharma called the ODI series defeat the "most humiliating thing for Indian cricket." (Time to Take a Call on the Kind of Fast Bowlers India Need: Dhoni)

 

But on Thursday, with a serious threat of whitewash looming, Dhoni came into his own and led the team from the front. After being asked to bat, the two-time world champions started steadily before the Jharkhand dasher came up the order at No.4 to hammer 69. He has for long batted at No.6, marshalling the lower-order and the tail. The knock, punctuated with six fours and a six, bore all the trademarks of a Dhoni innings and had the fielders on their toes. The skipper later said it was important for him to express himself and suggested his slot at No. 4 could be permanent in the time to come.

 

"The last two years I have hardly batted at 4. Even if I did come up the order, it was only after the 30th-35th over," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation.

 

Dhoni responded to his critics by smashing his 59th fifty.

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"This was my chance to bat higher up the order. That's why we have pushed (Suresh) Raina to 6 so that we have an experienced batsman at that position. This is something I can do only if Nos 6 and 7 keep on batting well. I won't be shy, I hadn't been moving well against spin but that had to do with the fact that there wasn't much batting behind me."

 

After the consolation win, Dhoni was businesslike. Four days ago after India had conceded the series to hosts, the 33-year-old had said he was never in line for the captaincy and had no qualms in giving it up. He said it was a mere responsibility for him. After starring in a 77-run victory, gone were the concerns, if any, of a troublesome dressing-room.

 

Captain Cool in fact, made it clear his concerns were elsewhere. Unlike Virat Kohli, the Test captain, who prefers all-out pace bowlers, Dhoni made it clear he wanted men who were more keen on maintaining the right lengths.

 

"We need to make a decision if we want quick bowlers or if we want good bowlers even if they are not quick. We have been backing too many quick bowlers who haven't been bowling well."

 

It is no secret that Dhoni as ODI captain and Kohli as Test skipper, have backed different bowlers in different formats. What remains to be seen is if Kohli will continue to back his bets despite such strong words from a man who has won two World Cups.