Dhoni's Diwali Dhamaka

By ICF Staff
October 31 2005

Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashes perhaps the most ferocious ODI innings ever seen as he single-handedly chases down a near-300 target against one of the best ODI bowling attacks in the world.

As India grieved the heavy loss of life in its capital at the hands of despicable terrorists, 150 miles away in Jaipur, Mahendra Dhoni lifted their spirits with an exhilarating, feel-good innings that will rank among the best ever played in the one-day version of the game.

Jaipur was lit up on the eve of Diwali by Dhoni's unbeaten 183(145), replete with cleanly struck fours and stunning sixes each of which cleared the boundaries by a long margin, and it put the smiles back on Indian faces. His 10 sixes and 15 fours added up to an awesome 120 runs off boundaries, the highest ever in a single ODI innings.

Adam Gilchrist, the aging Australian superstar, will welcome a kindred soul even if Dhoni's record knock by a wicketkeeper in ODIs eclipses his own 172, scored against minnows Zimbabwe with Australia batting first at home.

Dhoni's dazzling innings by contrast came chasing a near 300-run target against the number 2 ODI side in the world, facing two of the world's top-ranked ODI bowlers Muthiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. This after Sachin Tendulkar and the rest of the top order had perished cheaply, and he was promoted to number 3 at short notice.

Having kept wickets for 50 overs in hot conditions, Dhoni then batted for 46 more, carrying his bat through the innings despite cramping to win with 4 overs to spare. He ended the match fittingly: with a huge six over midwicket.

Sri Lanka could be forgiven for celebrating prematurely after scoring 298 and then dismissing their nemesis Tendulkar in the first over. Their own wicketkeeper, tenacious Kumar Sangakkara, had scored a fine 138 after hanging on grimly in the first half of the innings. Ajit Agarkar was the best bowler amongst the Indians, bowling with pace and control to uproot Jayasuriya's off stump right after two close LBWs had been turned down by umpire Hariharan. Harbhajan Singh bowled a wicketless tight spell, the Lankans taking no chances against him, but his quota ended prematurely as Rahul Dravid chose to attack with his star spinner. Thereafter, Murali Kartik and even Irfan Pathan were tonked around the park as the Lankans stepped up their scoring rate in the middle overs.

After Tendulkar's departure, Sehwag played a responsible knock, regularly turning over the strike and scoring in singles but always at a run-a-ball. He eventually fell LBW to Murali for 39, the second-best effort in the Indian innings. Dravid was the next to be foxed by Murali, and Yuvraj once again looked amateurish against spin as he returned quickly to the pavilion.

Through it all, Dhoni's aggression never flagged. Record after record fell as he mercilessly tore apart the Lankan bowlers. A helpless Marvan Atapattu later said, "It did not matter whether we used power plays or not, he hit the ball out of the park as and when he wished."

Dhoni won the Man of the Match award, the nominal Rs. 35,000 award to go along with it, a large slim-screen TV, a Rs. 10 Lakh award announced at short notice by the Jharkand Cricket Association, and a nice plot of land in his home state.

But more importantly, he won the hearts of Indian fans and delighted countless millions with a Diwali gift that could not have been timed any better.

Tendulkar, Pathan and now Dhoni are the superstars in a series which India leads 3-0, and Sri Lanka's only hope is to win all the remaining 4 games. Given the one-sided nature of the series, a more likely scenario is that India might humiliate the number 2 team in the world with a clean sweep.