Dhoni’s double hundred humbles the Aussies
 The Australian cricketers led by Michael Clarke who waltzed to
victory over Sri Lanka in the home Test series, winning three-nil, were
convincingly trounced at the Chidambaran Stadium wicket in Chennai in
the First of four match Test series by India.
The game finished before lunch on the final day with India winning by
8 wickets. The rest of the Tests will follow in the same pattern unless
the Australians can lift their batting against the Indian spinners.
Before going on to comment on the game and its outcome, I would like
to start with the Indian skipper’s blistering knock of 224 that took the
game away from the Australians. After his team’s loss to England,
critics questioned his captaincy and some even suggested that he quits
saying enough is
enough. Such are the vagaries captains have to face. When a team wins
the credit goes to the team. But when a team loses it is the captain who
has to take the blame and the attacks that go with the defeat. So it is
seen that a captain’s job is no bed of roses. Often it’s a bed of nails.
The manner in which Dhoni strode to the wicket it was obvious that he
was hurt and that he was going to make his critic eat their words. He
was determination personified as he took strike.
Confidently stroking the first ball he faced, he just began to wade
into the Aussie bowlers and with strokes all round the wicket. His
strokes were octane powered as he dusted the bowlers to all corners of
the field and over it. There was disdain and arrogance. When he first
came into the game and in his formative years he made his presence felt
by banging sixes. But once his career began to unfold he tempered it
with discipline and began to cut out the risks and began to play with
more responsibility.
Skinned and cooked the bowlers
When in the mood like he was at the Chidambaran Stadium, there is no
bowler who dare bowl to him. He just skinned and cooked the Aussie
bowlers – Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon
and had a sumptuous meal. With wrists of steel, when he hits the ball it
stays hit. He played all the strokes and his now famous helicopter shot.
All that the Aussies could do was to stand and watch in amazement the
master at play and pray to the cricketing gods to end this misery and
suffering.
His 24 fours and 5 sixes in his 265 ball innings of 224 was like a
limited over innings. The Aussies must be praying that they are not made
to suffer at the hands of Dhoni in the remaining three Tests. When this
series began, the cynosure of all eyes was on that once in a life time
cricketer Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. With age catching up, it was billed
as the make or break series for the ‘little master’.
But this fit as a fiddle, disciplined and determined cricketer played
an innings of 81 during which innings he showed that he has not lost the
zest for the game and batting, as he stroked with the exuberance of a
youth.
This knock proved that he has a lot more cricket and batting left in
him. He will play through this series and now that he has retired from
the limited over games, which was energy sapping, he could keep his
batting magic going for a few more years. It would also have warmed the
cockles of the Indians to see Virat Kohli getting into his run making
act. He did not have a good run against England in the series that India
lost. His century was confidently made showed signs of being in the runs
against the Aussies.
When Australia won the toss and elected to take first strike, it
looked as though they had gained the early advantage and would continue
to dictate the trend of the game.
Big spin in the wicket
But as the game progressed it became apparent that the wicket was
going to take spin, and big spin at that with variable bounce and that
the Aussie batsmen, other than for Clarke and Henriques were incompetent
against spin.
When the teams were announced, it was surprising to note that the
Aussies were going in pace heavy with only one spin bowler. The Indians
on the contrary were fielding three spinners and two medium pace
bowlers.
There is an unwritten law that the home team has the prerogative to
prepare wickets to suit their bowlers. And it was apparent that the
Indians were doing just that. From the moment the spinners came on, it
was obvious that the
Australian batsmen would be in a flat spin. And that was how it was,
other than for Michael Clarke and Moises Henriques, the others did not
seem to have the technique to play high class spin bowling on a
responsive wicket.
Determined to regain lost prestige
The Indians were smarting after their defeat to Alastair Cook’s
Englishmen and were determined to regain lost prestige and win back the
confidence of their legion of fans who were disappointed after that
defeat.
The Australians might cry foul, the strategy of the Indians to
prepare spinners wickets which does not give the Aussies any chance. But
that is how the game goes and the Aussies better not cry. Now that they
are aware that the Australian batsmen cannot perform on spinning
wickets, the next three Tests will have similar wickets and the Aussie
batsmen would be cannon fodder for the home team spinners.
While the Indians had three high class quality spinners in
Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh off spin and Ravindra Jadeja left
arm, the Aussies had an offie in Nathan Lyon who was no match to the
Indian spinners.
How the Australian team will counter their deficiency against the
Indian spinners on spinning wickets in the remaining Three Tests will be
interesting to watch. From what was apparent only Clarke and Henriques
did seem to have the required technique. Good and threatening spin
bowling is counted with the use of the feet. Other than for Clarke and
Henriques, the other batsmen seemed flat footed and were caught in a
flat spin.
Clarke is easily the best player of spin bowling in world cricket
today. He with his twinkle toed footwork has the ability to take on any
spin bowler head on like he showed in the manner in which he played the
spinners in both innings.His first innings century was brilliantly
carved out and added to his stature. Starting with the series against
South Africa and Sri Lanka in Australia and with this century against
India has an avalanche of runs coming his way.
Spinners handed new ball
In the Australian second innings, Dhoni handed the new ball to his
spinners, ignoring his new ball bowlers in Ishant Sharma and Bhuveneswar
Kumar which can be taken as an indication that one of the new ball
bowlers will be dropped for the Second Test and another spinner in
Pragayan Ojha coming in.
The ignoring of the new ball bowlers in the second innings would have
been humiliating to Sharma and Kumar. Dhoni could have saved their
blushes had he given them at least a couple of overs with the new ball.
If Ojha is included, it will bring back memories of old when the
Indians dominated the game with spin bowlers of the class of Bhagwant
Chandreshkar, Bishen Singh Bedi, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Eknath
Solkar.
This Test match was marked with the awarding of caps to debutants
Bhuvenshar Kumar a medium pace bowler by India and Moises Henrique a
talented all rounder from Australia receiving his baggy green cap.
Harbhajan Singh plays 100th Test match
Off spinner Harbhajan Singh coming back to the Indian team played his
100th Test, which is great credit and an occasion that he will always
remember. Although going wicket less in the first innings he contributed
to the victory in the second with two wickets. Both had memorable
outings. Henriques scored twin half centuries and was unlucky not to
have a century to his credit in the second innings running short of
partners.
Kumar who did not take a wicket was involved in a record partnership
of 140 for the ninth wicket with skipper Dhoni. He shows signs of being
a good medium pace bowling all rounder. He plays straight and could
develop with more exposure. As for the Aussies with the spin of Lyon
proving inadequate with him going for a double century for only two
wickets, they will have to get leg spinner David Warner a lot of bowling
in the nets and use him more in the Tests.
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