Welcome Most Special Dimension (M.S.D.) to the 10,000 run club

Let me start this blog by reliving that iconic moment that marked the beginning of the MSD era in Indian cricket.

FLASHBACK

World T20 2007 Final- Pakistan need 13 runs from the last over with 1 wicket in hand.

19.1- Joginder Sharma bowls a wide outside off stump- 12 off 6 now

19.2- Another wide outside off stump but this time just inside the wideline - 12 off 5 now.

19.3- An attempted yorker goes horribly wrong and Misbah smothers it for a straight 6 - 6 off 4 now.

 

Wait.. Readers just wait. Before I get to that iconic Misbah Scoop, I noticed something. Being a kid, who had started watching his cricket from the late 90s, I was practically used to 2 kinds of Indian skippers. The first kind, who succumbed to these pressure situations looked absolutely defeated and their face showed that the pressure was getting better of their nerves ( Azharuddin, Dravid etc). The second kind, who got hyperactive in these pressure situations and tried to motivate the bowler and his fielders with all kinds of on field action (Ganguly, Kohli etc). But here was a man behind the stumps with long locks of hair arranged by his ear, who seemed absolutely unaffected by the match situation. The look on MSD's face, after that over boundary from Misbah, simply told me one thing that day- that he believed that there was a life outside the cricket field.- there was life outside the Indo Pak rivalry. Of course, he wanted to win the World T20, like everyone back in India, but he knew, had India lost the final, that would not have been the end of life. This is what made MS Dhoni special, and this is exactly what caught my eye back in 2007- that he was different as a leader.

Present Day

MS Dhoni has just completed 10,000 runs in ODI cricket in the 2nd ODI against England at Lords, in the Royal London Cup, 2018. For a batsman, who has played at a position below 4, for most of his career, that is a massive achievement in itself. But, here is one record of MS Dhoni that went unnoticed in the celebration of his 10000 ODI runs. He also completed 300 ODI catches in 321 ODI appearances. Only Sangakara, Mark Boucher & Adam Gilchrist are above him in this regard. 

All the stated points above are as far as record books are concerned.  But, to illustrate, how much MSD has affected Indian cricket, I will say just one statement- THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MSD IN INDIAN CRICKET. With all due respect to the greatest players, who have played for India, there has never been one like MS Dhoni. And this, by no means, is an emotional statement. There has been middle or lower middle order batsmen in Indian cricket, who could take the game to the opposition in the slog overs. Throughout ages, there has been players like Ajay Jadeja , Robin Singh, going back, Kapil Dev, who has accelerated in the slog overs and ensured India get to a good score. When MSD came onto the scene, he looked to be exactly of that mould of batsman. But there was something else about him- his steely resolve to pace the innings. He has never ever been that irresponsible player, who would hit himself out in crucial match situations. He is that rare breed, who will torment the opposition bowlers, with his presence on the crease, even if the required runrate goes beyond 10 an over.

Let me make this very clear, the term 'finisher' in Indian cricket, originated with MS Dhoni and will finish with MS Dhoni. There has been good middle order batsman and decent lower order pinch hitters for India, and that breed will continue to exist post-Dhoni era, but there will never ever be a finisher again in Indian cricket. In the pre-Dhoni era, India lost a number of matches, where they had to chase runs at a required rate of 7-8 per over, fr the last 10-15 overs, simply because there was no one to guide the chase. Yes.. there were always players in the Indian batting line up who could score 30 in 15 balls, in a chase, but there was no one who could ensure victory, by scoring a 50 not out off 40 balls. Only, after the arrival of Dhoni did we as cricket fans realize that it was possible for the Indian team to chase runs at greater than run a ball, successfully and consistently. Over the last 10-12 years. MS Dhoni has made this chase of 7-8 runs per over so trivial, that the fans are now criticizing him for not being able to chase 10-12 runs per over. 

Dear critics of MS Dhoni, people of who have followed Indian cricket from close quarters know, how painfully the Indian batting line up collapsed in Chennai, in 1999 against Pakistan, after Tendulkar lost his wicket. Dear critics, we have seen the Indian team, not being able to chase 6 runs per over for the last 15 overs with more than 6 wickets in hand, against Sri Lanka in Colombo, 2001, where India fell agonizingly short by 5 runs. MS Dhoni single handedly has arrested jitters and batting collapses in run chases for the last decade and more. He has raised the expectation of the Indian fans so much that, the post MSD era will come as a huge shock to such fans.

Post MS Dhoni, there will again be batting collapses, there will again be choking in pressure situations in run chases, there will again be mayhem of the leader under pressure,  there will again be catches dropped behind the stumps, there will again be stumping chance missed, there will again be byes and leg byes conceded- in short normal human errors and shortcomings will find its way back in Indian cricket, because the era of the GOD will be over. So, as long as he graces the cricket field, let us enjoy whatever we can of his game, of his masterstrokes, of his streaks of brilliance, because, looking back on Indian cricket history, I believe, there will always be 2 eras in Indian cricket - The era Before MSD (BMSD) and the era after MSD (AMSD).