Leading light shows Raina the way

The message was heard,for in successive ODI games,Dhoni has walked on to the field with his army in trouble. And on both occasions he hasnt just stopped the slide,but also played mentor to a young batsman,leading him towards constructing a career-changing innings.

At the Oval on Friday,it was 25/4; today at Lords,it was 110/4. Back then,he guided Ravindra Jadeja to a fighting 78. Today,while trekking towards the summit,he also played sherpa to Suresh Raina who ended his slump with a classic one-day knock of 84. As the two helped India score 109 runs in the last 10 overs during their stand of 169,India showcased their famous keep-wickets-in-hand-for-slog-at-death approach,one that has historically helped them win one-day games. And Dhoni was key to Indias last-minute flourish,just like he was a few days ago.

After notching up 69 at the Oval while batting at No.6,Dhoni was asked why he was reluctant to promote himself up the order,especially considering that most seniors werent in the side. It was a logical question. Dhoni,though,disapproved,without a condescending tone. He claimed that he needed to bat lower down since the youngsters in his team didnt have the experience to handle the complexities involved in the vital few overs at the death end of a 50-over contest.

Someone (like me) needs to have a chat with the young players about what needs to be done lower down the order. The thinking of the young players can be unidirectional. They can think now we need to take on the bowlers,which may not be the ideal thing to do (in that situation), he said.

He was talking from experience. During his partnership with Jadeja that day,Dhoni had constantly asked the 22-year-old to play straight,drilling it into his mind in the early overs. Today,with Raina for company,Dhoni asked the young man to keep his horizontal-bat strokes on the backburner.

On a leash

The slog sweep has been one shot that has helped Raina get loads of runs,but it has also come at a heavy cost,getting him out a number of times. Usually,when faced with a long run-slump or when he finds the going tough against a particular bowler,Raina goes down on his left knee and aims for cow corner,in an attempt to hit himself out of trouble. In the previous ODI,after struggling for 10 balls,Raina tried to send the ball over the stadium roof but completely failed to connect. He did manage to hit a six over mid-wicket,but was out trying to repeat the risky stroke.

Having watched Raina from the non-strikers end that day,Dhoni ensured that he had his batting partner on a leash on Sunday. The caution worked,as Raina stepped out of the crease only after he had faced 32 balls.

Everything about the Dhoni and Raina partnership was immaculately planned,every scoring shot well thought about,every bowler played on merit. During the first six overs of their association,the scoring sequence was 1,5,3,2,0,0. In their first 14 overs together,the run-rate hovered around four,but in the final 10 overs of the game it nearly touched 11. Early in their partnership,the pair earmarked Steve Finn as the pace attacks weak link. Before the 40th over,the only bowler who conceded a boundary was Finn. The left-right partnership also played to the combinations strengths against Graeme Swann the off-spinner,Dhoni was the aggressor,while Raina tapped the ball for singles to give his captain the strike.

It was only during the last 10 overs that Dhoni cut the collar from around Rainas throat. With the license to give the ball a whack,a no-holds-barred Raina slog-swept the pacers and went inside-out to Swann. Now,even Dhoni began to aim for cow corner.

Several times during his innings,Dhoni cleared his front foot and lofted the ball between long-on and deep mid-wicket. This happens to be Dhonis signature stroke,one that put a punctuation mark on the 2011 World Cup. The ball leaves the bat with a trademark thud,whistling into the crowds. Its a loud sound,something that Dhoni uses as his war cry when making a powerful statement of intent from the middle.