M S DHONI - How he changed Indian Cricket's fortune

Can India become the no. 1 side in world cricket? If I had asked myself this question 5 years back I would have answered: only in your dreams buddy. Being a passionate and optimistic follower of Indian Cricket I continued to dream thus wishfully ....... just maybe some day we will be a force to reckon with like Australia. India reached the 2003 wc final but lost twice quite comprehensively to Aussies. Taken as a whole Scenario we were not really dominating the stage inspite of the presence of awesome players like Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble, Harbhajan and Laxman etc. We were good but there were not even whispers about being the best. Now turn the clock 5 yrs on to the present time and a distant dream looks set to become a reality. The Indian team is the flavor of the season and the side to beat.

So what has been the most perceptible change that has turn the tide in our favor? Friends we do not need to look further than an incredible Phenomenon which goes by the name of M S Dhoni. What an asset to the Indian Cricket he has proved to be. Every one but goes gaga over his tremendous influence on the fortunes of Indian Cricket. He has almost never put a foot wrong since he became the captain of our Indian team. Even before that he put the fear of gods in the hearts of the fiercest of Opponents. Fifth match into his career he blasted the Pak attack to smithereens scoring 148 runs. Months later the same treatment was meted out to the hapless Lankans. His 183* still stands as the highest score in the second innings by a player and of course the highest ever as a wicket keeper. Subsequently he also showed his great quality in adapting to situations and finish matches in victories for his team. He had a lead role in the phase when India was on a golden run of consecutive successful chases. He saved the first test against the English team scoring 76* in what was Rahul Dravid's last series as Captain and it was a very important event in India winning the series 1-0. His Cool Headedness and astonishing ability to change gears combined with extraordinary skills as a batsman make him an extremely dangerous batsman and he currently tops the chart in ICC Rankings of ODI Batsmen with an avg. of nearly 50.

His value in the team rises exponentially when we evaluate him as Dhoni the Captain. Records have been tumbling and new ones created right, left and centre since he took over. Starting with Capturing the INAUGURAL T20 WORLD CUP to beating Pak at Home and capturing the CB SERIES taming the Aussies in their own den. It was followed by India winning for the 1st time a bilateral odi series in Sri Lanka a feat repeated again by Dhoni and his team later by an even better margin. England was blanked 5-0 and New Zealand defeated 3-1 for yet again first ever in a bilateral series against India in NZ. The post is getting quite long and so will continue in the next blog about Dhoni as a test captain.