If India loses, Dhoni knows he's done for
By the time you wake up on Sunday morning and smell your coffee, MS Dhoni and Steven Smith would have readied their playing XI for the third ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
It has been an interesting series till now, 1,230 runs scored and Australia winning the two contests in Perth and Brisbane. As the TV experts tell viewers, if India doesn't win this match at the MCG, the series is over.
Dhoni baiters, and they are quite a few in number these days, are already having a good dig at the skipper. It's as if he alone has played so badly resulting in India losing two matches on the trot.
The captain's press conference after losing the second match was interesting. Realising that this Indian bowling attack does not have the bite to tear into the Aussie batting line-up, he has exhorted his batsmen to go for another 20 or 30 runs. A target of 300-odd runs has been inadequate and makes us wonder if playing in ODIs has been redefined.
Just to jog the readers' memory, when India competed in the ICC World Cup last year in Australia, they had an easy run till the semi-finals. Dhoni's team ran into the hosts and were whacked. The situation is no different now. This Aussie side has stayed unbeaten at home since December 2014 and for the winning streak to end means Team India has to come up with something very special on Sunday.
Going by the pitch report, it will be another belter at the MCG and though this Aussie bowling attack is not first rate, they have bowlers who fire with a large heart. Their fielding has been outstanding from the deep which makes a lot of difference in the big grounds.
Back to Dhoni and his analysis of the batting. If he is asking his batsmen to dig deeper and score 20 or 30 more runs, there is nothing wrong with it. Agreed, Rohit Sharma has batted beautifully but it would be better if he continues to stay unbeaten till the 50 overs so that the other batsmen can play around him.
Shikhar Dhawan's poor form is a major cause for worry. He does have the skipper's backing and people talk of Melbourne being his second home. But then, just because Dhawan's wife hails from Melbourne does not mean he has got to play.
If the time to make a change in the side has come, it is now. It would not be a bad idea to drop Dhawan for a couple of matches and let Ajinkya Rahane open. At least, that way, you can have one batsman who can play right till the end and the other batsmen can pace their knocks better.
To think there are no other batsmen who can make their way into the India side is wrong as Gurkeerat Singh Mann, who has played at the No 6 position and bowls off spin can be drafted in. In the Indian Premier League, Mann has taken on the role of a finisher with aplomb and this is the best time to try him out.
If the Indian batting needs a bit of rejig, the catching has been poor. Ishant Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane put down catches in the second ODI and that cannot be afforded.
The bowling attack has been in the line of fire and even seasoned star Ishant Sharma has looked wayward. If the star bowler in the side is going to be a big let-down, what do you expect from others like Barinder Sran and Umesh Yadav? During the last World Cup, India had the services of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma.
Bhuvi could also be an option on Sunday but the way the captain has been talking, it does appear the batsmen need to score more runs if they bat first.
People are already joking about R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the architects of India's win over South Africa in the Test series at home last month. Bowling on dust bowls at home is very different from the pitches in Australia as the bowlers would have realised.
Down Under, it's going to be suicidal if the bowlers' don't bowl tight and to concede extras is unaffordable. There is pressure on India and nobody knows this better than skipper Dhoni.
If India does badly in the shorter versions, he has to be blamed! Former players are critical about Dhoni's lack of form as he is unable to score runs. As one who has loved the pressure all along, Dhoni is aware if he loses the ODI series this time, his neck will be on the chopping block.
But then, there is no denying the fact he is going to lead India in World T20 at home very soon.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)