Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a disruptor in more ways than one. His batting technique was unique, the power he got behind his shots was unmatch...
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a disruptor in more ways than one. His batting technique was unique, the power he got behind his shots was unmatched in Indian cricket and nobody did their hair quite like the youngster from Ranchi.
On April 5, 2005, in Visakhapatnam, as India played Pakistan in the second one-day international, the pressure on Dhoni, after a series of failures with the bat, was immense. An unorthodox batting style did little to help his cause but Dhoni silenced many doubters with a swashbuckling 148 off 123 deliveries to give India a victory in the game, a 2-0 lead in the series and most importantly a wicket-keeper batsman that the team had craved for many years.
Dhoni had made just 22 runs in his previous four matches, but an inspired decision by captain Sourav Ganguly to promote his young wicket-keeper batsman to No 3 position in the batting order did the trick.
The Ranchi youngster attacked the Pakistan bowlers from the word ‘go’, smashing 15 fours and four sixes to completely take the game away from the visitors. The surprise attack from a relatively unknown youngster had Pakistan scratching their heads. They never really recovered from Dhoni’s blows and conceded 356 to India in...
