The Hindu : Sport : Dhoni may be the solution

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 07, 2005

Sport

Sport

Dhoni may be the solution

By Sanjay Rajan

JAMSHEDPUR, APRIL 6. It could well be termed a happy coincidence that Mahendra S. Dhoni was in Rahul Dravid's company when he became only the second Indian wicketkeeper to score a one-day international century. Dravid was the first to do so and you could see a smile on his face when he walked up to the young man and congratulated him. It also meant that India has finally found what it was looking for: a wicketkeeper who can bat, and bat well leaving Dravid to concentrate on his batting.

The Indian vice-captain has for long been doubling up as the 'keeper in one-dayers. He would agree that it suited him at the start. Back then he did not figure in the scheme of things as a pure batsman because of his slow ways with the willow and the fact that he kept wickets saw him hold his place.

Then he found himself saddled with the job. This was after Sourav Ganguly struck upon his successful seven-batsman policy and it was Dravid who provided the side with that option.

Come to think of it, Dravid has performed the dual role rather impressively. Importantly, he did not allow the burden of keeping to come in the way of his batting. He has played 73 of his 248 matches as 'keeper-bat, had a hand in 84 dismissals, scored 2300 runs, with four centuries and 14 half centuries. Interestingly, his average of 44.23 in this phase is better than his overall average of 40.11!

Appreciation

Dravid was all appreciation for Dhoni's all-round display on Tuesday. Dhoni had batted for two and a half hours and kept wickets for close to 45 overs, which is no mean achievement, considering the sweltering conditions at the ACA-VDCA Stadium.

Dravid knows more than most of how draining it can be having been through it many a time. Dravid first kept for India in the 1999 World Cup, standing in for an injured Nayan Mongia. It was on the West Indies tour of 2002 that he began being considered as a wicketkeeper. This was followed by the NatWest Trophy in England that India won at Lord's chasing 326 for victory. The successful chase — made possible by Md. Kaif and Yuvraj Singh — convinced Ganguly of the efficacy of the seven-batsman formula.

Success followed success, as India finished joint-winner in the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo. It was pretty evident that Dravid was not enjoying it, but he had the team's interest at heart. Moreover, the 2003 World Cup was around the corner, let alone the seven-match series against the West Indies at home and another seven matches in New Zealand as part of the preparation.

It was decided that Dravid would keep till the World Cup, and relieved of that duty thereafter. India finished runner-up in the event, but Team India continued to depend on Dravid as 'keeper for the simple reason that India was unable to find a 'keeper who could bat usefully at No. 7. Parthiv Patel was around, but his style of batting was better suited for the longer version of the game.

Dual role

Dravid played the dual role in the 2003 tri-series (Australia and New Zealand) at home, followed by the VB Series Down Under, the five-match series in Pakistan, and at the start of this season, the Asia Cup in Colombo and the Videocon series in Amsterdam.

It was during this period that Tamil Nadu's Dinesh Kaarthick came into prominence. The 19-year-old had scored a century each in the Ranji Trophy semifinals and final and was performing impressively in international `A' team competitions and was thought to be the right choice on the strength of his aggressive batting. He was picked in the squad for the NatWest series and the Champions Trophy, both in England, and played in two ODIs. Dhoni, who is 23, was around all along and was also knocking on the doors. He had made two centuries against Pakistan-A in a tournament in Kenya.

Meanwhile, Parthiv had a miserable series behind the stumps against Australia at home in November, thus paving the way for Kaarthick to make his debut in the fourth and final Test.

Came the tour of Bangladesh, and the selectors decided to blood Dhoni, a neat striker of the ball, in the one-dayers. He performed reasonably behind the stumps there, and a lot better here.

Dravid is impressed with Dhoni's keeping abilities. "His glove work is good. He looks very confident and will shape up better," said the vice-captain.

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