IND- SL ODI Series: Another Feather in Dhoni's Cap

Sreelata YellamrazuFeb 16 2009

by Siddharth Raman

The Indian cricket team ought to be greatful to the BCCI and Sri Lankan cricket board for adding the hastily scheduled ODI series and T20 match in the emerald island to their itinerary. The series has done their confidence a world of good and is another feather in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's cap.

dhoni NNPA6 17022

Its not often that you see Sri Lanka on the verge of being whitewashed on their home turf in a five match ODI series. India came very close to making that a reality, but as they faltered in their chase in the final ODI a scoreline of 4-1 was what India would have to settle with. This is India's second consecutive ODI series victory in Sri Lanka but will be more special than the previous one as the Indian batting line up did not let Ajanta Mendis get the better of them this time around. If we analyse India's performance in the the ODI series – we come across something that we haven't been able to associate with the Indian team for quite a long time – the team has won matches irrespective of Sachin Tendulkar's performance at the top of the order. The little master had a torrid time not because of good bowling or crumbling pitches but because of the umpiring. His frustration was evident by the shot which be played against his Mumbai Indian's counterpart Dilhara Fernando of the free hit he got in the third ODI. But alas, when the spectators thought they were in for a Tendulkar special they were treated instead to another umpiring special! Nonetheless what mattered was that these decisons did not affect the team's morale and they continued to play good quality cricket.

Apart from Dhoni's luck with the toss, what clicked for India was their batting. The line up looks very strong and there is even a certain degree of flexibility wherein batsmen need not always bat at their regular position but whenever they come in to bat they adapt to the situation as per the team's requirements. The Indian's had a definite gameplan to tackle Ajanta Mendis and Muralitharan – the fact that Muralitharan had to wait till the fourth ODI to eclipse Wasim Akram's record for the most number wickets in ODI's (he needed three wickets at the start of the series) shows that the Indian batsman seemed to have decoded the Muralitharan and Mendis magic. Take the the case of Yuvraj Singh – on the previous tour it seemed like even if Mendis bowled underarm to him he would be bamboozled ,but on this tour he had come well prepared and the results were there for all to see. Had it not been for an umpiring blunder, he could have scored a century in the second ODI itself. He made up for that in the third ODI ,partnering with Virender Sehwag, their blitzkreig laid the foundation for a mammoth total. He may not have gone hammer and tongs against the spinners but he did not let them settle down against him either. Occasionally he did let his aggressive approach take over and when it did it was poetry in motion. The cover drive of Mendis for six is a shot that will not be easy to forget. The likes of Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni also chipped in during different parts of the series. Winning a series without any significant contribution from Tendulkar's bat is huge compliment for the Indian batting line-up.

On the bowling front too, there are a lot of options for the Indian team. If the batsmen click (as was the case for most of the series) Dhoni can afford to play only four regular bowlers and can depend on the part time spin of Yuvraj and Sehwag to complete the remaining ten overs. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan are a potent force and a wicket in the first ten overs seems to be taken for granted when both of them are in full force. Ishant Sharma in particular has shown that he has a steady head on his shoulders, the evolution of his variation of pace has been fantastic to say the least – he seems to have picked up the nuances of the slower delivery rather well from the bowling coach.

The first international T20 match on Sri Lankan soil gave a taste of the excitement that one associates with this firebrand version of cricket to the Sri Lankan cricket lovers. The momentum swung from one team to another and finally India lived up to their reputation of World champions. The Pathan brothers may have played matches on the streets of Baroda where they would have dreamt of taking their country to victory. The R Premadasa stadium made that dream a reality. When they came together to bat the asking rate was close to twelve an over. But their partnership ensured India got there with four deliveries to spare. The elder Pathan bludgeoned the spinners while the younger one handled the pace bowlers. An excellent way to cap an already successful tour. One wouldn't be surprised if the Indians consider the RPS to be their second home by now!