Dhoni insists captaincy isn't a cakewalk
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is perhaps aware that no Indian captain has won three Tests on the trot [excluding tours of Bangladesh] in the last seven years
S Aga18-Dec-2008
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: “We raised our standards, we took the responsibility as a team, and that’s what really matters” © Getty Images
After ceding the limelight to Sachin Tendulkar on the final day inChennai, Mahendra Singh Dhoni fronted up to the cameras and microphones inMohali, perhaps aware that no Indian captain has won three Tests on thetrot [excluding tours of Bangladesh] since Sourav Ganguly triumphed atKolkata, Chennai [Australia] and Bulawayo seven years ago. His record ascaptain thus far is perfect – four from four – and Mohali was the scene ofthe most emphatic victory, a 320-run drubbing of Australia two months ago.”Nothing is easy, I can assure you of that,” said Dhoni with a smile whenasked if this whole captaincy business was a lark. “International cricketis tough. Yes, if you do have a good side, if the side is doing everythingright, it looks a bit easy. I think it’s just that the team is playingreally well.”There was certainly cause for alarm in Chennai, with England dominatingthe first three days of the match. “In the first three days, I don’t thinkwe won too many sessions,” Dhoni said. “But the last two days, we were on themark, we won the sessions that mattered. We raised our standards, we tookthe responsibility as a team, and that’s what really matters. Viru [Sehwag] startedit in the second innings and of course Sachin and Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] batted really well.But at the same time, the bowlers were also fine. When there werepartnerships, they were willing to bowl and stick to the plans.The cracks on the Mohali pitch didn’t faze him unduly, and he said that heexpected it behave much like the surface on which Australia had beenbeaten. “It’s tough to say how different it is,” he said. “I can only sayhow different it’s looking right now. It’s quite dry, though a fractionharder than the surface we’d played on. But there have been quite a fewRanji Trophy games on the same wicket, and looks can be deceptive. Itcould be on the slower side.”Dhoni was unstinting in his praise for the batsmen who pulled off theChennai chase, and he stressed on how the big partnerships mattered.”I think a lot depended on the start,” he said. “I think it was a perfect start given by Viru, because if you don’t get such a start, you’d be playing to save the game, which is not easy. It looked easy when Yuvi and Sachin were batting. When they were through with theinitial stage, it looked a bit easy. But it’s really tough and getstougher when a new batsman is in. When a partnership gets going, it lookslike a flat wicket. But when a new batsman comes in, all of a sudden theballs seem to start to jump and everything seems to happen, especially ona fifth-day wicket.”In his mind, there were no doubts about Sehwag’s standing in the moderngame. “Whether it’s the last innings he played, or the way he plays, he isone of the most destructive batsmen in Test cricket and one-day cricket,” saidDhoni. The positive mindset within the team has also allowed the likes ofSehwag to play their natural game. “To keep it very simple, we back Sehwagto play his shots even if he gets out in a few innings. As a team, webacked him. We know the game he plays and we know how he’s got so manyruns in international cricket. So believe in the talent that everyindividual has got. That really makes us a real team.”Sehwag’s brilliance in Chennai largely obscured another significantcontribution from Gautam Gambhir, whose form since returning to the sidehas been nothing short of a revelation. “Both of them complement eachother,” said Dhoni. “They’ve played loads of domestic cricket together,they run well between the wickets. Both of them are aggressive, they playtheir strokes. They score at a brisk pace, over three an over. So if theystay together for 10 to15 overs, we know that they would get 50 to 60runs. But the one thing that stands out is their running between thewickets.”
Dhoni on Rahul Dravid: “Once he passes the 30-run mark, he’ll get his confidence back” © AFP
There was some sympathy for the English bowlers who toiled without muchreward on the final day in Chennai, on a pitch where India too hadstruggled for breakthroughs.”They didn’t bowl badly, it’s just that at times things do not go your way,” he said. “When there was a partnership between Paul Collingwood and Andrew Strauss, nothing was happening for us. Even when the ball was bouncing, or hitting the glove, it wasn’t going to the fielders. It happens in cricket at times.”Maybe they could have done something different. They could have got Montyto bowl in the rough; they could have done something different, especiallywhen Sachin went for his chest pad, it was very obvious that he’d notplayed his shots from that region so at that time they could have gone forsome of their options. With a great player like him, you can see what theindications are, which basically in this case was that he would not play shotsfrom the rough, unless it was really pitched up, underneath his bat.”The euphoria surrounding the run chase temporarily stopped talk of theRahul Dravid crisis, but predictably, the questions were back in fullforce on Thursday. “I’ve said that each time, I’m not really worried,”Dhoni said. “I feel it’s just a matter of time. Once he passes the 30-runmark, he’ll get his confidence back. Nobody can question his talent anddetermination. We have confidence in him and I think he’ll get runs atsome point of time.”He didn’t, however, rule out a change in the batting order, with VVSLaxman moving up to No.3 and Dravid dropping down to No.5. “We’rethinking, but at the same time it’s not confirmed because we have to thinkof a few other things as well,” he said. “Shifting Rahul to No. 5 andasking VVS to bat at No. 3, it might seem okay – VVS is scoring runs andit would be easier for Rahul to bat at No. 5. But it might turn the otherway round as well. If on a good ball, VVS gets out, there is alreadypressure on Rahul, and if he comes in with three wickets down early, therewill be more pressure. It’s really tough to battle that. If you’re comingin at No. 3, you come in at one wicket down, and that gives you thefreedom to play your natural game.”Dravid apart, India certainly did that in Chennai. And after storming homewith 20.3 of the day’s scheduled overs still to be bowled, Dhoni wascertain that it would affect the sort of targets set for India infuture. “We were criticised when we didn’t declare in the series againstAustralia,” he said. “Well, the first preference is to save a game. Beingbrave is very important but you can’t be foolish. So from a point whereyou have the control of the game, you shouldn’t give the opposition even achance of winning the game.”Once the opposition knows that it can’t win a match, they just look todefend, and that’s the time when you can really attack them more, pushthem to the back foot. There was that famous Test match when the Indianteam was given the follow-on and it went on to win the game. And afterthat, we’ve seen a number of international sides not giving the follow-on.So it can start a trend, when people would like to be safe first.”With a series to square, Kevin Pietersen and England no longer have thatluxury.