MS Dhoni has once again proved his doubters wrong by steering India to a 93-run win on a sluggish track in the third One Day International of the five-match series against the West Indies in Antigua on Friday, June 30.
The wicketkeeper-batsman struck an unbeaten 78 and made sure India posted a winning total of 251 from their quota of 50 overs. After being put into bat on a wet wicket, India lost in-form Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli early, after which Ajinkya Rahane and Yuvraj Singh started to rebuild.
Halfway through the Indian innings, Yuvraj fell prey to Devendra Bishoo's wrong'un and the onus fell on incoming Dhoni to support Rahane. The dasher started slow and collected only 15 runs in his first 35 balls only to cut loose in the later stages of the innings and end the innings with a strike rate of 98.7.
Stitching an 81-run stand with Kedar Jadhav for the fifth-wicket, Dhoni made sure India scored 100 runs in the last 10 overs on Friday. After bagging the Man of the Match Award, the limited-overs legend likened himself to "wine" when asked how he was able to get better with time.
"Our top-order has been doing the bulk of the scoring in the last one, one and a half years, so it felt good to get an opportunity and score runs I think it was the nature of the wicket [what made the knock special]," Dhoni said.
He added: "There was variable bounce and at times the pace. It was important to have a partnership at that stage. In my mind, I had 250, and we got there, with Kedar batting with me at the end. It was something the bowlers could defend, but they had to bowl well."
While there were doubts over Dhoni's future in the Indian setup after his recent failures to score consistently as he used to, the 33-year-old showed he is still not a spent force with a solid innings in conditions that were harsh for batters.
Notably, after a dull 2016, in which he scored only 278 runs at 27.80, Dhoni has got back to his best this year and has already amassed 332 runs in 11 innings at a career-high average of 66.40. Friday's knock was yet another instance where the former captain proved his worth as a "finisher" on the side.
The most talked about SIX from last night - a @msdhoni special #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/oRcorJO2Zg
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 1, 2017
Meanwhile, Indian bowlers, especially spinners, made sure they used the conditions to their advantage and bowled out Jason Holder's side for just 158, helping the side clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Young wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav stole the show once again with figures of 41/3, which came days after his three-wicket spell in the second ODI.
Veteran R Ashwin joined the party and with yet another modified bowling action snared three wickets. Part-timer Jadhav finished things off by picking the wicket of Kesrick Williams with the very first ball of his spell.
Dhoni heaped praise on Kuldeep, who has been receiving constant inputs from behind the stumps. The wicketkeeper-batsman stressed on the need for the wrist spinner to use his variety to good effect.
"It is important [to guide spinners]. Kuldeep has played a lot of games in IPL but when it comes to international cricket, it is important to know where to use your variety. Once he plays 5-10 games, he will realise it himself. The good thing is, compared to the last game, he bowled very well today," Dhoni added.
