Dhoni, Dhawan ensure open and shut case

As expected, Dhoni was pleased with his effort. ‘‘This is for the first time I played such a knock in front of the coach and captain of the Indian team. Hearing is one thing, seeing is believing. That was the best part of my knock,’’ said Dhoni.

Coming as it did just a day after his first-ball duck against India A, Dhoni’s hundred spoke of the resolve of the young wicket-keeper batsman.

‘‘Yesterday I was out to an incoming ball from Zaheer Khan. So today when I was facing another left-armer pacer Nehra I was very careful,’’ said the quick-learner.

After the initial watchful period against Nehra, Dhoni changed gears when facing Joginder Sharma and Ramesh Powar. At the other end, Dhawan quietly picked up runs, leaving the strike for Dhoni. ‘‘He was playing his game. I played mine. He was hitting sixes, I was scoring boundaries,’’ summed up a ‘delighted’ Dhawan later.

When on 87, Dhoni suffered cramps and it seemed that the wicket-keeper might miss out on a well-deserved hundred. ‘‘I have been out in the 80s a number of times and I thought that this time too I will miss the three-digit mark,’’ confessed Dhoni.

The knock has just come a few days after Sourav Ganguly hinted at a permanent one-day slot for Dhoni. But there are two other contenders – Dinesh Kaarthick and the axed Parthiv Patel – in the field, but Dhoni is not perturbed.

‘‘They are my friends. Dinesh especially is my best friend, I exchange notes with him. And Parthiv has just become a friend, so it is good competition,’’ said Dhoni.