Game Changer M S Dhoni

• Attack is the best form of defence
• Fortune favours the brave

I was reminded of the above sayings when I watched Dhoni at Chennai on the 3rd day of the first test between India and Australia. India had found itself in a spot of bother when Tendulkar was dismissed . The Chennai crowd was expecting the Master to get to a Century but their expectations were cut short . Yours truly was one of those disappointed  fans as well , being at Chepauk stadium to see if one more record will be created by the Little Master. Tendulkar had played with lot of ease and stride on Day 2 to take the battle to the third day and so the crowds swelled to the stadium in hope. However on day three, it had been a painful first hour batting session which saw Tendulkar and Kohli prod around to score 23 runs in one hour.

Out strode Dhoni at the fall of Tendulakar’s wicket. His body language was Positive. I related it back to the World Cup final in 2011 where he came in ahead of the inform Yuvaraj and non challantly took India to the top of the podium. Very positive and it looked that he was ready to take the Aussies on. One wicket at this juncture would have swayed the match to the Aussies. The next one hour was one of the best attacking cricket that I have seen in Test Cricket. Dhoni and Kohli made 67 runs in about 16 overs . It was brilliant to see the ball racing away to the boundary. The crowd quickly forgot that Tendulkar was out and it was the CSK captain and Chennai grown ( ! you should watch the big screen for all the innovative relations that Dhoni has to Chennai ) boy  who was on Centre Stage. The new ball was torn apart. Runs leaked till Kohli left.

To me , I was unsure if Dhoni will get to his 100. He did that and not only he did that but in the last 90 minutes of play took the game away from the Aussies. The Aussie attack was battered and Dhoni got to his Double hundred ( first by a Indian Wicket keeper ever ) and to 4000 runs in Test cricket. To score over 200 runs on a single day of Test match under Chennai conditions is not easy. It showed up Dhoni’s physical fitness as well. One more thing I noticed was that he did not want to get out. He was focused on staying at the wicket and wanted his teammates to do the same. The stare that Dhoni gave to Harbhajan when Bhajji got out in a messy fashion was there for to all see. With Dhoni securing a winning lead , the end result was in no doubt .. india won comfortably.

My only thoughts were—
Why can’t Dhoni bat the way he did at Chennai , all the time .
 What does it take to do this all the time and be consistent ? If Dhoni were to do that , India would be winning all the time.
 Game Changers know when to get that extra out of them and they probably do it on special occasion and on Big match days and it was great that Chennai could watch one of the best ever counter attacking innings every played. The single differentiation factor was the Dhoni innings. It simply resulted in only one option—and Indian Win.
To me , I had been content to watch matches on the Television for a long time. This time , with a century looming large from Tendulkar , the Aussies as opponents , Sunday Crowd ( one of the most knowledgeable and appreciative – Namma Chennai crowd ) , I went to the stadium . I was not disappointed even for a minute. Electric atmosphere ,( we can pardon the security checks ) , the Big screen keeping every one in the game and other wise , the score boards, Die hard Sachin fans and their colourful attire ( decent description ) , it was great fun to be back to watch the cricket live . I did go for the Tamilnadu -- Rajasthan Ranji Final but that has comparison to this one.