Reverse Swing | Suresh Menon
The figures are impressive. Before the Lord's Test, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had won 15 of 27 Tests as captain, and was yet to lose a series. The percentage of wins is better than those of Clive Lloyd, Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell, Imran Khan, Mark Taylor, Mike Atherton.
But - and this the crucial question - have the statistics become an albatross around the Indian captain's neck? Is it now more important not to lose than to win in order to extend that unbeaten run? In the two most recent Tests, at Dominica and then at Lord's, Dhoni has emerged as the most defensive of captains, unwilling to take calculated risks and too easily satisfied with the bird in hand to even attempt to check if there is more than one in the bush. Continue reading below
It has meant that India, the No. 1 Test team in the world is also the least attacking and the most likely to withdraw into a shell at the first suggestion of danger. This is not how champion teams ought to be. Much has already been said and written about Dhoni's silly decision to bowl on the second day of a Test in which he put the opposition in. Matt Prior has emerged as the better wicket keeper-batsman of the two, even if Dhoni is the better wicketkeeper-bowler.
On the fourth day of the Lord's Test, the approach of the two captains was interesting. While Andrew Strauss ensured that Prior, his No. 7 batsman who turned the game around was given a chance to complete his century, Dhoni didn't think it worthwhile to give Ishant Sharma a chance to claim five wickets although the tall lad had brought India back into the game. Dhoni bowled, as did his friend from Chennai Super Kings Suresh Raina, but Ishant was kept out of it after lunch, and also later with the declaration looming.
Whatever happens in the Lord's Test (and this is being written on the fourth day), one thing that will stand out is Dhoni's lack of inspiration. Hopefully it is a temporary phase.
Towards the end of the England innings, the Indians were merely going through the motions, waiting for the declaration which is a terrible way to play an international match. Dhoni bowling meant that Rahul Dravid, who had to open the batting was forced to keep wickets just before changing his gloves. Dhoni's cavalier attitude towards the seniors does not augur well.
That the opposition has greater respect for Dravid's approach was made clear when after a vociferous appeal for a catch off Graeme Swann, they decided not to appeal to the DRS. They reasoned that if Dravid had been out, he would have walked.
Test cricket is about finding the right rhythm. In the first innings, there was a phase when England, with nine overs to go before the second new ball, turned to Jonathan Trott. This should have been the signal for one of world cricket's biggest hitters to attack, but Dhoni didn't and India paid the price when the new ball was taken.
Increasingly, with the resources depleting thanks to the injury to Gautam Gambhir and the virus that Tendulkar picked up, the need was for keeping things tight but the field placings especially close in, allowed edges to escape.
The defensive attitude was clear right from the start. If you have the world's best batting line-up, and your best bowler is on the comeback trail, why would you shoot yourself in the foot by going in with just four bowlers? Sometimes when the options are limited, individuals tend to perform better knowing that a single slip could end in disaster.
Much of Dhoni's reputation rests on his occasional illogical and unexpected moves that turn out well. He is a gambler whose moves are put down to 'intuition' and 'feel', and when these succeed he is feted. In fact, he nearly had Kevin Pietersen's wicket when he came on to bowl, and had the batsman fallen who knows what turn the Test would have taken? Pietersen survived, thanks to the DRS, and went on to make a double century.
While flamboyant gestures sometimes come off, there is no substitute for straightforward cricket thinking. The great captains, Mike Brearley, Benaud, Ian Chappell didn't make their reputations on the odd decision but on consistent ideas over a long period.
Dhoni's self-consciousness is not helping the team. He needs to reconnect with the positive captain he once was, before statistics and percentages began to tie him down.
