NAGPUR: He was much like Amitabh Bachchan coming to town with vengeance on his mind. And, as he wielded his bat like a machine gun, Mahendra Dhoni .
Singh Dhoni led by example, compiling a beautifully crafted hundred that was as thrilling as it was responsible. Having set the packed stands on fire all afternoon, the Indian captain ensured that his team sat atop a run-mountain from where they could deservedly look down upon their opponents and bounce back in the series in style.
With some of his more illustrious colleagues flattering only to deceive, Dhoni took it upon himself to drive home the point that a lot of cricket is played between the ears. Indeed, his bat might as well have been a magic wand as Dhoni founds the gaps with ridiculous ease, placing the ball delectably all over the park to keep the fielders busy. He played the anchor and adventurer in equal measure during the two vital phases of his innings.
The first part involved the century stand (119 off 113 balls) with Gautam Gambhir. The pair gained strength from each other, rotated the strike regularly and ran brilliantly between the wickets. Without taking any undue risks the fourth-wicket partnership cruised at 7-8 runs an over in the middle overs, rescuing the side from a precarious situation.
The second half of his innings was his dazzling partnership (136 off 96 balls) with the extremely talented Suresh Raina, as he ripped apart the Australian bowling with his trademark big shots. Here Dhoni wisely delayed taking the Batting Powerplay by a couple of overs so that his junior partner could get his feet moving. And once he eventually took the Powerplay, and declared war on the bowling, he produced flashes of his old brilliance that made him one of the most-dreaded batsmen in the game.
In a trice, Dhoni changed gears, picking the length and depositing every other delivery to the boundary. Those towering sixes that were seemingly under wraps for a while now were on display again and it brought the crowd to its feet. Fittingly enough, he first singled out Ben Hilfenhaus for some special treatment since he was the one who pricked his pride by striking him on the helmet to the very first ball he faced. A flat six to over wide long-on made the bowler look to the heavens.
In the next over, another towering six off Shane Watson brought up his hundred and Dhoni lost little time in celebrating it by slamming the very next ball for another six over long-off. Indeed, as Dhoni flexed his muscles, his bat having a prolonged argument with the Australian bowling, you could almost hear him say: 'This six was for the ball that hit me on my helmet, this one for Mitchel Johnson bringing me down while taking a sharp run'.
Singh Dhoni led by example, compiling a beautifully crafted hundred that was as thrilling as it was responsible. Having set the packed stands on fire all afternoon, the Indian captain ensured that his team sat atop a run-mountain from where they could deservedly look down upon their opponents and bounce back in the series in style.
With some of his more illustrious colleagues flattering only to deceive, Dhoni took it upon himself to drive home the point that a lot of cricket is played between the ears. Indeed, his bat might as well have been a magic wand as Dhoni founds the gaps with ridiculous ease, placing the ball delectably all over the park to keep the fielders busy. He played the anchor and adventurer in equal measure during the two vital phases of his innings.
The first part involved the century stand (119 off 113 balls) with Gautam Gambhir. The pair gained strength from each other, rotated the strike regularly and ran brilliantly between the wickets. Without taking any undue risks the fourth-wicket partnership cruised at 7-8 runs an over in the middle overs, rescuing the side from a precarious situation.
The second half of his innings was his dazzling partnership (136 off 96 balls) with the extremely talented Suresh Raina, as he ripped apart the Australian bowling with his trademark big shots. Here Dhoni wisely delayed taking the Batting Powerplay by a couple of overs so that his junior partner could get his feet moving. And once he eventually took the Powerplay, and declared war on the bowling, he produced flashes of his old brilliance that made him one of the most-dreaded batsmen in the game.
In a trice, Dhoni changed gears, picking the length and depositing every other delivery to the boundary. Those towering sixes that were seemingly under wraps for a while now were on display again and it brought the crowd to its feet. Fittingly enough, he first singled out Ben Hilfenhaus for some special treatment since he was the one who pricked his pride by striking him on the helmet to the very first ball he faced. A flat six to over wide long-on made the bowler look to the heavens.
In the next over, another towering six off Shane Watson brought up his hundred and Dhoni lost little time in celebrating it by slamming the very next ball for another six over long-off. Indeed, as Dhoni flexed his muscles, his bat having a prolonged argument with the Australian bowling, you could almost hear him say: 'This six was for the ball that hit me on my helmet, this one for Mitchel Johnson bringing me down while taking a sharp run'.
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