Under the SKanner: MS Dhoni

Dhoni has been India's pillar in the lower middle-order for years

 

Before the T20 series between India and England in January 2017, bcci.tv released a video of MS Dhoni, the charismatic former Indian skipper, practising in the nets. The video footage showed Dhoni placing a white Kookaburra at a bat's length from the stumps on the off-side. He then asked Jasprit Bumrah, India's yorker specialist, to bowl at the ball while he practised his shots.

It was Dhoni's way of countering the wide yorkers that England were preparing to bowl at him. 

The footage reveals the passion and commitment Dhoni has even after relinquishing the captaincy. Dhoni has little to prove to his critics who have been on his back for his waning prowess and slow strike rate. He has two World Cups and a Champions Trophy to show for his efforts apart from a plethora of other achievements as skipper and batsman.

Dhoni has had a brilliant career. His numbers are to die for but his value extends beyond just that. He gave the Indian One Day outfit a makeover with his sensational death over batting and shrewd captaincy. Dhoni's presence in the lower middle-order lessened the burden on the top order.

He was a master at chasing down targets, something Indian teams of the past struggled to do on a regular basis. A batting average of 50.89 in ODIs and 36.63 in T20Is does justice to the skill and talent of the flamboyant cricketer.

Here, we look past the numbers and analyse his batting strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

1. Anything full

Dhoni is a boss when it comes to tackling full balls. Very few pace bowlers have been spared of Dhoni's crashing straight drives or thumping slogs over long-on. He relishes batting in the death and is adept in playing yorkers and full balls.

With a boxer's stance and a perfect bat swing, Dhoni generates immense power in his shots. The stance allows him to take advantage of anything full and his quick reflexes also play a hand in sending the ball soaring to the skies. 

2. Intimidation

This is possibly Dhoni's biggest strength as a batsman. He knows the overpowering effect his calm demeanour has on the bowler. As such, he prefers to take the game into the last few overs for a one on one battle with the bowler.

Dhoni's composure and confidence in these situations can be intimidating for the bowler who is under pressure at the death. All these lead to the bowler failing to land a good yorker against Dhoni, often proving to be fatal for the side. 

Dhoni's presence of mind and calm demeanour made him one of the greatest death batsmen in cricket

 

3. Attacking the spinners

Dhoni loves using his feet against the spinners. He reads the line pretty early and gets in position quickly. His nimble feet allow him to meet the ball exactly where he wishes to, making him a nightmare for spin bowlers. His bat swing and amazing power cover any issues with timing and more often than not spinners find themselves taken apart by Dhoni. 

4. Judging situations

Dhoni is as shrewd as they get when it comes to assessing match situations. A flashback to the 2011 World Cup final is all that is required to understand the game awareness of this brilliant cricketer. 

In the final against Sri Lanka, he knew that Muralitharan's off-spin would trouble Yuvraj Singh and hence walked in ahead of the southpaw. His composed batting and strike rotation took India to the verge of victory and he himself finished the game for them with a signature strike over long-on. 

Weakness

1. Back of a length deliveries at the death

Of late, Dhoni has been struggling to finish games both for India and in the IPL. An ODI against South Africa in 2016, when Kagiso Rabada contained Dhoni in the final over with short balls, set a pattern for fast bowlers. They began peppering him with short balls and slower bouncers in the death.

Dhoni's biggest strength was his ability to convert full yorkers into length balls or full tosses and thump them down the ground. But with the back of the length deliveries, Dhoni was in a pickle as he could not use his bat swing to hit the ball straight.

Bumrah used the same tactic against him successfully in the IPL. Dhoni is a good player of the short ball but with quick runs required at the death, nailing a pull shot to get a six or four is not an easy task. 

Dhoni's death batting has suffered in recent years

 

2. Wobbling bat swing and stance

In IPL 2017, Rising Pune Supergiant had the services of one of the shrewdest cricket analysts in the game, Prasanna Agoram, a Chennai native who is an analyst with the South African cricket team.

Having worked with the likes of Amla and de Villiers, Agoram sat down with Dhoni to analyse his stance and bat swing. The results showed that Dhoni's right knee bent more than the left thereby affecting balance at the crease and weight transfer.

The head, which should ideally be upright, tilted when meeting the ball. The bat swing, which used to be pristine and perfect, wobbled and came down at an angle which affected his shot making ability. 

"I’ve been working on it for a while. I’m basically trying to work on getting myself more upright in my stance. I noticed that the head is bending over a little and is not in line with the front toe," Dhoni had told The Indian Express during an IPL practice session.