Mahi Way

GOALKEEPERS never make good wicket-keepers but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an exception.Keeping in mind his goalkeeping skills, Dhoni was once a...

GOALKEEPERS never make good wicket-keepers but Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an exception.

Keeping in mind his goalkeeping skills, Dhoni was once asked by his school coach to keep wickets after the regular wicket-keeper had failed to turn up in time. Ever since, football8217;s loss gradually started turning out to be cricket8217;s gain.

Wicketkeeping came by chance to this Ranchi-born cricketer, but the natural ability to hit every second ball out of the ground is what turned him into a local star back home.

There have been stories on this swashbuckling wicket-keeper-batsman, the way his lifestyle back in Bihar then now Jharkhand was that of a budding athlete, who could play any sport with great skill. A litre of milk a day, his popularity as a pinch-hitter, the goals his saved for his school, all in the dusty lanes of Ranchi helped him grow as an individual.

8216;8216;Mahi his nickname apni duniya mein mast tha,8217;8217; he was happy in in his own world says a close friend of India8217;s new star. His hairdo back home has become as popular as his batting and Dhoni8217;s neighbours8212;given his performances now8212;seriously believe he can simply hit every ball out of the field.

DHONI8217;S name had already started doing the rounds at the national level when the team was being named for the NatWest Trophy and the ICC knock out tournament in England. 8216;8216;He was among our choices,8217;8217; the selectors said before retaining Dinesh Kartik for the series.

Even as India toured England, back here, Dhoni, 24, began to amass runs in the most brutal fashion at the domestic level. By the time he played the last Challenger Trophy in Mumbai, he was already being tipped as India8217;s Adam Gilchrist in the making. 8216;8216;It is in my nature to be aggressive,8217;8217; he had said in an interview then.

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A student of DAV School in Ranchi, Dhoni set ablaze the Visakhapatnam stadium in the series against Pakistan early this year with a scintillating 123-ball 148. Like in school and college, where his friends used to expect big entertaining knocks from Mahi in every match, it has been the same at the international level too. Recently Dhoni had talked about how the burden of expectancy had increased after that innings against Pak and he was under pressure of his own to come up with another such innings to live up to the expectation.

The dazzling 183 against Sri Lanka took him to greater heights as a batsman-wicket-keeper only next to the best in the world. He broke Adam Gilchrist8217;s record of 172 in an ODI, defeated Kumara Sangakkara in the battle of wicket-keepers and can now pride himself in being counted among the best.

But Dhoni8217;s far too resolved to let complacency creep in. His performances last year, in the Duleep and Deodhar Trophy remained a classic mix of audacious innings at times and flops at other, which has taught him a lesson of sorts over the year. Under Greg Chappell, Dhoni now understands the importance of not letting his newly acquired star status take over his performance. In the very next innings after the Jaipur hundred, he displayed the patience of a composed cricketer, showing the other side that he8217;s been working hard on.

Interestingly, Dhoni made his way into Indian cricket when there were already three wicket-keepers trying to find a place in the national team. In times of such competition even, Dhoni never wasted an opportunity to come up with statements like: 8216;8216;I8217;m sure I will play for India. It is an open field and there8217;s no hurry.8217;8217; His confident approach and the fact that he knew he was good helped him succeed.