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Batsmen on song often don’t think twice before
taking a single in the death overs. In a tight chase that can be quite counterproductive.
It’s one of
Dhoni’s things. When it gets tight towards the end of an innings, he stands his
ground. Turns his back to his partner. Raises his arm. Pretty much an
uninterested traffic policeman signaling stop – if you don’t get it by now, too
bad for you. Most of his non strikers don’t get it, the ball could’ve been
played to a boundary fielder, usually that’s a run, possibly two, if there’s a
misfield. Deal with Dhoni, there is no uncertainty, there is no single. He has
switched off. It’s only boundaries. Or certain twos. Nothing in between.
At some
point, it could be as early as the 17th over, (depending on who the
non-striker is) that Dhoni switches off the singles. Dhoni is in nightclub-bouncer-mode
– couples only. If that means a string of dots, so be it. It helps him stay
even keel. Minimise the clutter possibly. Dismiss the ambiguity. Victory or
defeat will only happen at the hands of Dhoni.
It all is
working its way to a Rock ‘n’ Roll crescendo – the patient acoustic buildup
comes with the promise of a blitzkrieg of bass, drums, lead, and who knows,
Robert Plant singing on top of that, delivering via Dhoni, a stairway to a last
ball six. Were you not entertained? And you bow down, bleating, “I’m not
worthy”.
If such is
the promise, and so high the rewards, why do more batsmen not adopt this
approach? Does it take Dhoni’s aura, ability to up the stakes to such a
dizzying height, to pull it off? And days when it doesn’t come off, does it yet
again take Dhoni’s aura to shrug his shoulders, smile and say it like it is –
that there are days when it won’t come off.
KKR’s Andre
Russell came off against CSK the other night, smashing 88 not out of 36 balls –
with 11 sixes. KKR set a target of 202. CSK chased it down with one ball to
spare.
Russell hit
the 10th of his 11 sixes of the first ball of the 20th
over. The next delivery, he took a single – giving the strike to No. 8 batsman,
Tom Curran. Curran went on to play two dots, taking a leg bye on the fifth
delivery. Russell hit the last ball for his 11th six.
Would Dhoni
have taken a single on the second delivery?
It’s
tougher to find fault with a winning team – KXIP beat SRH on the last ball of
20th over by one wicket. From 136/5 after 17.3 overs, SRH found a
way to end up at 137/9 at the end of 19th over. It was down to No. 6
batsman, Deepak Hooda and No. 11, Billy Stanlake.
11 needed
of the last over for a win. Hooda hits the first ball for a six, next ball is a
wide. It’s down to four of five deliveries, what does Hooda do the next ball –
that’s right, he takes a single. (Given, he tried for a second but Pollard was
too quick for him). Next ball, Stanlake wangles another single, getting Hooda
back on strike.
It’s down
to two of two balls now. Hooda takes a single of the fifth ball, scores tied.
It’s all down to No. 11, Stanlake now. Stanlake hits a four. Hooda remains not
out, the only Sunrisers’ batsman to hit a six.
What would
Dhoni have done?
Your guess
is perhaps as good as Dhoni’s – he would’ve stood his ground. Taking the onus,
and with it, the big, fat bonus.
Even with
his batsmanship nowhere close to what it once was, the mind is as sharp as
ever. If it’s a risk worth taking, he’ll take it on himself. Ambati Rayudu will
vouch for that. From the non-striker’s end.
First published here
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