Though he’s likely to go down in the game’s annals as the inspirational captain-wicketkeeper who won India the full set of limited-overs trophies, and the face of the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise, it shouldn’t be forgotten that MS Dhoni was also a fine Test batter. The stereotype of Dhoni as some sort of dasher who lacked the technique to survive in tough conditions was way off the mark.
India have won a Test series in England just once since 1986. That 2007 triumph is remembered mostly for Zaheer Khan’s magnificent bowling at Trent Bridge, where he was allegedly motivated by an English fielder throwing jellybeans near him when he walked out to bat. It’s easy to forget how fortunate India were to escape with a draw in the opening Test at Lord’s. The hero? Dhoni, with an unbeaten 76.
Pilloried as Show Pony Dhoni by the English media after a couple of rash strokes in the English win in Mumbai (2006), he marked his first Test on English soil by batting out the last 20 overs in the company of Anil Kumble, Zaheer and Sreesanth. Later on the same tour, he would smash an 81-ball 92 at The Oval. Some Show Pony.
Crazy scenes at Eden Gardens ahead of the #KKRvCSK clash! Kolkata is flooded with Yellow waves of the #WhistlePodu brigade! #MSDhoni face masks, cut-outs, cake and much more! The craze is unreal. @ThumsUpOfficial @CricSubhayan @BoriaMajumdar @ChennaiIPL @KKRiders @IPL pic.twitter.com/NeGNQKL1rB
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) April 23, 2023
But while Dhoni’s ability to adapt to English conditions with his homespun technique was laudable, it was at Indian cricket’s Mecca that produced some of his finest red-ball batting. Long before he played for India, Dhoni had started his enduring affair with the Eden Gardens. It was there in January 2001 that he made his maiden first-class century, against Bengal.
Over the nine years that Dhoni played Test cricket for India, he played five Tests in Kolkata. In seven innings, he scored 457 runs at a Bradman-like average of 91.40. In February 2010, he made an unbeaten 132 against Dale Steyn in his prime, and in November 2011, he clubbed 144 off just 175 balls against West Indies. There were half-centuries against Pakistan (2007) and England (2012) as well.
It’s all in the mind for MS Dhoni
The century against South Africa came in a gripping Test match where Dhoni’s captaincy nous was very much in evidence. On the first day, South Africa romped to 218 for 1, with both Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla making fluent hundreds. With the ball more than 50 overs old, and Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra both in the XI, the default option would have been to trust in spin. But Dhoni turned to Zaheer just before tea, and it was he that broke the game open, having both set batters caught behind.
That imposing score of 218 for 1 became 296 all out. But the drama was far from over. Dhoni’s smashing hundred was built on the foundations laid by Virender Sehwag (165), Sachin Tendulkar (106) and VVS Laxman (143 not out), but rain and bad light on the fourth day meant that only 34.1 overs of play was possible.
With Amla scripting another epic in the second innings, India had to toil on the final day. Thrashed by an innings in the first Test of the series in Nagpur, India needed victory to square the series and hold on to the No.1 ranking that they had taken over just two months earlier. With Zaheer not fully fit, Dhoni had to rely mainly on the spinners and Ishant Sharma. They all responded superbly, but Amla was proving an immovable object.
When tea was taken on an extended final day, South Africa were 250-7, with Amla unbeaten on 106. No matter what was bowled at him, his bat seemed as wide as a door. But India kept chipping away, and when Ishant got both Wayne Parnell and Paul Harris in the hour after tea, the end seemed nigh.
Someone forgot to tell Amla and Morne Morkel. Few strokes were played, but as over after over ticked by, panic and murmurs of frustration started to spread in the stands. When Harbhajan came on to bowl what would be the penultimate over of the day, Amla and Morkel had defied India for 20.1 overs. But Harbhajan, another for whom Eden Gardens was a magical place, sneaked the third ball of his over past Morkel’s defensive push, and Steve Davis, the Australian umpire, lifted the dreaded finger after a moment of reflection.
Nearly a decade earlier, Steve Waugh’s Australia, one of the great Test teams of all time, had succumbed to the pressure created by the Eden Gardens faithful on the final day of another unforgettable match. The noise when Harbhajan wheeled away in celebration was comparable, guttural roars and yells emanating from every cavernous stand. Those that watched and celebrated knew that there would have been no victory without Dhoni’s sense of calm and his astute marshalling of depleted resources.
Totally confused where the match is!!
Eden Gardens hijacked by the #WhistlePoduExpress! Fans are going crazy to get a glimpse of the #Thala Mahendra Singh Dhoni! Such charisma #MSD7#KKRvCSK #MSDhoni @ThumsUpOfficial @msdhoni @msdfansofficial @CricSubhayan @BoriaMajumdar pic.twitter.com/ymm1ILe3UE— RevSportz (@RevSportz) April 23, 2023
Everyone recalls the 2001 miracle, but this victory was no less dramatic. Amla batted 499 minutes for his heroic, unbeaten 123, and Dhoni and his team also had the grace to go and shake his hand in the middle of frenzied celebrations. That was a golden age for Indian cricket – the T20 World Cup had been won in 2007, and the World Cup would follow just over a year after this win – and Dhoni was right at the heart of it. Calm amid the storm, and capable of quirky decisions that took Indian cricket to unprecedented heights. And it was the Eden Gardens that saw the best of him.
In-Form Chennai and Dhoni Seek Eden Joy Against Fast-Slumping Kolkata