Dhoni’s Midas touch losing sheen

The Indian skipper's towering sixes and hard-hitting strokes are sorely missing. He is now happy with singles and dot balls
Sandeep Kumar Delhi Hardnews

Though India registered a massive win against the West Indies at Johannesburg, there was nothing to celebrate or be proud of. For India, the tournament had ended in the very first over of their chase. Nathan Hauritz's single off the second last ball of the 49th over levelled the score and packed off the Men in Blue.

With this exit, another dream of becoming champions ended. This is the third of the last four ICC world tournaments where India failed to clear the hurdle in the first round. Every time they were considered favourites and they went out of the tournament at the earliest. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the man with golden arms, seem to have lost his Midas touch. The start was brilliant but now he has lost the shine.

MSD's young brigade has been sullying their name and game with every series. Though India won the last two series in West Indies and Sri Lanka, they failed to deliver at the Champions trophy. In this tournament, Dhoni's flaws are visible.

India began their campaign as the number one team. After losing to Pakistan, they once again proved that they are not the best side in the world. The batting, bowling and fielding lacked consistency. Dhoni's captaincy looked ordinary. The field adjustment, bowling changes and the team selection looked meaningless. The inclusion of Virat Kohli in place of Abhishek Nayar, who batted very well in the practice match against the Kiwis in their opening match against Pakistan, was a bad choice. Also, to continue with Ishant Sharma in spite of his bad form is being seen as a cause for failure.

The numbers clearly justify the story. In the last ten matches, India conceded more than 300 runs on four occasions. It is a proof of their incapability to run down against the opponent's top order.

Two years back, cricket experts all round the world lauded India's future bowling as balanced and accurate. Then, the team had upcoming bench strength of young pacers like Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Joginder well supported by Zaheer Khan. Come 2009, the current bowling attack has suffered a blow in the absence of Zaheer. Ishant, who toyed with Australian batsmen in the Australian series, now even finds it hard to bowl with proper line and length, cricket analysts told Hardnews.

Dhoni's attitude on the field has also come under the scanner in the last few series. Earlier, he set an example with his skills for the young brigade. Now, he doesn't even keep wickets in the matches. His towering sixes and hard-hitting strokes are sorely missing. He is now happy with singles and dot balls.

MSD, once the darling of Indian cricket fans and the advertising industry, however, is moving fast in the world of glamour and modeling. But, this is denting his popularity and following among cricket lovers. With every single loss at bigger tournaments, MSD is giving an opportunity to his critics. In an interview to a national television, Kapil Dev said, "We are not searching for the chances, Dhoni himself is giving it."