Dhoni finds his place in the sun

As much as the runs against his name, and the records he broke along the way, this was a monumental display of Dhoni’s mental and physical toughness; he spent around six hours out in the middle, in front of the stumps and behind, and rarely showed a lapse of concentration.

He’d been primed of his promotion a day before at practice and so was mentally prepared when the skipper came back after winning the toss. Even so, he’d have been taken by surprise at how soon he had to walk out: with the fall of Tendulkar’s wicket, the score at 26/1.

His walking out at one down surprised not only most at the ground but also apparently the Pakistan camp too, though Bob Woolmer would not admit it. Woolmer’s dossier on Dhoni was based on reports from four Pakistan players who were part of the ‘A’ team off whom the Indian ’keeper had smashed two hundreds last year.

After a slow start, during which he watched Sehwag destroy Pakistan’s spirit, Dhoni came into his own, partnered and nursed by Rahul Dravid.

All the while, the heat — not as bad as Kochi but still unpleasant — was taking its toll. Once in his 70s, he was gasping for breath, resting on his bat handle, egged on by Dravid and willpower.

Much like Adam Gilchrist, the fellow-keeper he admires, Dhoni moved to 99 with a boundary over extra cover region and reached his century with a single down to long-on.

Arms outstretched, he acknowledged the cheers, especially from a smiling Sehwag in the balcony. It was then down to the team cause; the flat nature of pitch meant that even 350 may not have been enough so he stepped on the accelerator.

His dismissal — holing out to midwicket — ended a remarkable innings. Dhoni’s 148 had come in only 70 scoring shots; it included four sixes and 15 fours.

Post match, his skipper recognised the influence the 23-year-old has had on India’s one-day game in such a short while. ‘‘We needed a keeper who could bat to relieve Rahul. With his arrival our one-day team gets only stronger,’’ said Ganguly.

The skipper had many reasons to be thankful for Dhoni’s knock; for one, it deflected the attention from yet another disappointing performance with the bat by both Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.

Before the series got underway, Ganguly needed just 64 to become the second Indian after Sachin to score 10,000 ODI runs but his form made that look difficult. “Going by what is happening, I think getting to 10,000 will be a long way away,” he joked.

But India completely dominated proceedings, though the result was much closer than it appears. Indeed, Pakistan have only themselves to blame for the defeat. As coach Bob Woolmer admitted, the bowlers just failed to bowl on one-side of the wicket as the match started slipping further away from them.

“The key to losing the game was our bowling first thing this morning. Later, although we batted well, we lost wickets at crucial stages,” Woolmer said.

Pakistan have now lost five straight one-day matches since the VB Series in Australia in February. The momentum has swung India’s way and it will require a stupendous effort from the visitors to get back into this series.

THE VIZAG BAROMETER
WHO’S HOT
Virender Sehwag
Just can’t do anything wrong, can he? Was totally unfazed by the early dismissal of senior partner Tendulkar.
Scored his lightning knock before putting Dhoni in the mood
Yuvraj Singh
Hits the ball sweetly, a sound heard several times today. Played a crucial knock just when the initiative was slipping from India. Then took three wickets before topping it off with that trademark catch off Sami at short fine-leg
Yousuf Youhana
Kept a low profile since that hundred in Kolkata; emerged out of the shadows today but once again in a losing cause.

WHO’S NOT
Mohammad Sami
One of the reasons why Pakistan are letting the game slip. Was too short, at times too wide, and let Dhoni and Sehwag get away easily
Sachin Tendulkar
Missed out yet again with the bat, made up yet again with the ball. Only positive is that he’s due for a big one
Sourav Ganguly
It’s just getting more difficult every day for him to score runs. Just doesn’t seem to be able to do anything. He did move away to play a lofted shot, but still not quite there.