By: Tarish Bhatt
Chants of “Dhoni…Dhoni…” erupted inside the PCA Stadium but it was just ninth over of the innings. The Indian captain had taken over the responsibility over himself of guiding the run-chase in Mohali.
He promoted himself to number 4, something which has become uncommon, since he went into the finisher’s role. He hasn’t been seeing batting higher than 5 for a very long time, but he decided to make amendments in Mohali.
Read More: MS Dhoni Should Bat Up The Order Regularly
Dhoni left the Blackcaps bamboozled with his counterattacking batting on a two-paced track. His intentions were pretty clear, attack. He was charging down the track, and looking to take on the spinners.
His intention paid dividend and ended up playing a scorching innings. He made a record partnership with Kohli for the third wicket to put the Indian team on course of taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
“I have batted lower down for a long time. I think 200 innings down the order,” the Indian captain insisted. “To some extent I am losing an ability to freely rotate in the middle.”
Read More: MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli Script Victory in Mohali
“So I have decided to bat up and let the others finish,” he added. “But I know I should still look for the big shots.”
The last game in Delhi didn’t go to India’s favour. Dhoni was dismissed at a crucial juncture of the innings, as India faced a narrow six-run defeat. The Indian captain lauded his team for coming back strong after the defeat.
“I think we would have done better in the last game, but what’s important is coming back and doing well in the next one. I felt it was a very good game for us initially,” Dhoni said.
