MS Dhoni was there until the end against the West Indies in Antigua on Sunday, scoring a half-century in a low scoring game. The only aspect that changed in the ‘Dhoni the finisher’ script is that the 35-year-old failed to take the team over the finish line.
As expected, the murmurs began. Dhoni losing his finishing touch was the prevailing sentiment, and looking at some of his efforts over the last two years it doesn’t seem so far off the mark. Two ODI innings in particular stand out – the Kanpur ODI against South Africa in 2015 when India needed 11 and Dhoni (31 off 30) couldn’t get the job done in the final over, and the Delhi ODI against New Zealand in 2016 when the Indians were chasing 243 and lost by six runs with the veteran making 39 from 65 balls. Add in the 114-ball 54 against the West Indies to the mix and it looks like the iconic glovesman is slipping.
These instances stand out because Dhoni is being measured against the standards he set for himself over the years. But if his innings since 2015 are viewed objectively, the 35-year-old has done well.
At the 2015 World Cup, Dhoni remained 45 not out as India battled to a four-wicket win over the West Indies chasing 183. Then in the next game, he made an unbeaten 85 in the company of centurion Suresh Raina to guide the team home against Zimbabwe, chasing 288.
In Bangladesh in 2015, India were 2-0 down in the three-match series and needed a strong batting effort in the final match. Dhoni tackled ‘mystery’ quick Mustafizur Rahman with great dexterity, taking the score to 317 with a knock of 69 and salvaging some pride.
Right after the unsuccessful chase against South Africa mentioned above, Dhoni scored 92 off 86 balls to help post 247 against the Proteas and set-up a narrow 22-run win. Even against the Kiwis, after he failed to chase down a low total in Delhi in 2016, he hit 80 in a successful chase of 286 the following match.
Woke up to realise that India lost to WI. Pinched myself.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 3, 2017
So, India's last three ODI losses are to teams ranked 9th (WI), 8th 🇵🇰 & 7th 🇱🇰
Even in the ongoing West Indies series, his knock of 78 not out in the third ODI helped India post 251 which proved well beyond the hosts.
While he has failed on occasions during a chase, he still hits the target regularly. What’s more, Dhoni is good at setting up the game for his team in the first innings, as can be seen in his efforts against South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies as previously outlined.
All these knocks were made since 2015. Yes, they don’t have the flair of the 2011 World Cup final where he hit 91 off 79 balls while chasing 275. But if we look at absolute numbers in ODIs since 2011, Dhoni has only had one bad year with the bat – 2016 when he averaged 27.8 and had a strike rate of 80.11. In every other year he has averaged more than 45 with a strike rate of more than 86. And the lowest number of matches he has played in any year since 2011 is 12.
In 2017, Dhoni has hit 386 runs at an average of 64.3 in nine innings at a strike rate of 86.3. He has three fifties and one century in nine outings this year. Also, he is still the best wicket-keeper batsman in the country, with his reflexes as stupefying as ever.
Can India be certain of victory when Dhoni is at the crease during the chase? Maybe not. Has Dhoni been making match-winning contributions with the bat? Yes. This may not be the Dhoni we have become used to. But he is not a spent force. Far from it. Maybe we just need to alter our expectations.
