Dho(ni) daala!

First test match - it was Sehwag and Dravid who did it for India. Second test match - it is Dravid again and the man who we claim to be Sehwag's mould and Sachin's form of yore - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. At the time, India were looking down the pipe and our usual expectation is to see the infamously great Indian collapse. In comes the new pair after the exit of Sachin and Yuvraj. Pathan and Dhoni. After some recent fabulous knocks from Pathan, I must admit that I did expect Pathan to rock again, even if he bats for a short while. Dhoni is a big hitter. But it is equally probable that he might get out to a loose shot. But what happened thereon will be consigned to history books now.


M S Dhoni - 100 in 93 balls with 12 fours and 4 sixers.
Pic courtesy: Cricinfo.com

Dhoni hit a 34 ball 50 and continued on to score a 93 ball 100 (matched Sehwag's fastest hundred by an Indian Opener). And this came at a time when pressure was on India. For a debutante player in Pakistan, playing only his 5th international test match, this showed a lot of determination and character. And he did not face any side league bowlers. He faced a lot of Akhtar and the new Paki find - Asif. He played them with as much elan as would have Sehwag or Sachin in his hey days. Not to be outdone by Afridi's slam bam innings, Dhoni gave a fitting and matching reply by hitting 4 towering ones straight across the ropes. In the process, Dhoni along with Pathan saved India from facing a follow-on scenario. The scoreboard looked really ominous with 281/5, and the Dhoni-Pathan partnership took the scoreboard to a respectable 441/5, just 147 runs adrift of the target.

Also, it seems like the tourers are out to break and set records in Pakistan. While a dozen records tumbled during the first test, here are some for starts. With 116*, the knock is...
1) 3rd highest score by a debutante wicket keeper against Pakistan
2) 7th highest score by any wicket keeper against Pakistan
... and it is not over yet. I hope he would go on and on to cream more! Yeh Dil Maange More!!

For more, read this article on Rediff. Kapil Dev went on to claim that he is his hero! His innings also stood out because of the outrageously unorthodox shots that he played - and it can only be ably described by Prem. Here's something from Prem Panicker's match report on Rediff.

Kaneria got to bowl to Dhoni next over -- and was greeted with what a startled Dean Jones, in the commentary box, called an "upright paddle straight drive". That really is the best way to describe it -- Dhoni stood tall, reversed his bat and with tremendous bat speed, hit the ball straight behind the keeper. An over later, Dhoni got more conventional, going down the track to hit the straightest six of the match.

Pathan gave great support from the other end and batted well enough. At stumps today
, Pathan was at 49. This comes from one of India's ace bowlers. Now being groomed as an all rounder by Greg Chappel to fit into Team India's vision to lift the 2007 Cricket World Cup. And he is showing good signs. However, he is struggling with the ball. Maybe he would find the much needed form and sting before long. (The pitches are also not offering anything much, that also has to be borne in mind!)

Earlier in the day, El Capitano Dravid hit a belligerent century, second one back to back. The captain appeared in fine nick. He had to be gotten out the only way possible - which is what happened. Run out for a call that need not have been made by Sachin. He went back to the pavilion obviously disappointed at his dismissal. You could see him knocking over the cardboard flips kept on the boundary line. Quite uncharacteristic of a man who is mostly known as calm, quiet and unreactive. Another observation that I had is that of Dravid holding up his arms and hardening it up rigidly to show aggression when Dhoni completed his century. He may not really take his shirt off like his predecessor. But the new body language that Dravid has seems to suggest a much more stronger man than before. (Also that eye to eye showdown with Akhtar in the first test match)

Let's see what is going to happen tomorrow. As of now, the match seems to be heading for a draw. Hmmm...

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