Rise and shine... it’s India’s time

Yuvraj paves the way, Dhoni stays till finish to hit the winning runs as India huff and puff on their way to a tense two-wicket win over the Sri Lankans

ADELAIDE: It is Nature’s injustice that some are blessed with more talent than others. Here is one case.

He can keep, he can bat, he can lead, he can guide, he can stay cool in crunch situations, he can play with injuries, he can cover up for others’ weaknesses and he can also defend someone, like Yuvraj Singh, relentlessly...

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has qualities envied by many and possessed by few. Versatility is abundance in the Indian captain, the hero of India’s tense last-over win over Sri Lanka here on Tuesday night.

For a long time, India craved for a player of Javed Miandad’s qualities, cool like a cucumber and hungry like a ravenous tiger — the man who does things with tact than power, with calculation than risk, with patience than restlessness. The batsman who never says die, one who stays till the end. Here is the find.

“There is a lot to learn from him for the youngsters. He has stood up and delivered. The way he has been batting is amazing,” said Yuvraj Singh, whose 76 was one of the highlights of India’s successful chase of Sri Lanka’s total of 238. “His unbeaten 50 was better than my 76,” the vice-captain added, heaping praise on the captain who stood by him, thick and thin. The effort was worth its weight in gold, though.

More than Dhoni’s individual score, his partnerships were match-winning efforts. Curbing his natural aggressive instinct has been one of the recent transformations in Dhoni’s batting. He now prefers to play the sheet anchor’s role in the middle, exploding only when required. Even as wickets fell regularly at the other end, he kept his cool, stealing singles, doubles, triples from here, there, everywhere. In his 68-ball unbeaten effort, there was not a single four.

Here is player who made his name for big shots. “I’ve started enjoying this,” he said after the match.

In fact, he seems to be enjoying guiding his teammates. The skipper was involved in two important partnerships — 59 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj and 58 for the sixth wicket with Irfan Pathan (31, 41b, 4x4)). And in the face of adversity — when wickets started falling — he still seemed to be under control of the situation.

The wickets of Irfan (46th over), Praveen Kumar (48th) and Harbhajan Singh (49th) put pressure on India with the target moving from 10 from three overs to 7 from two overs to 3 from one over. With Ishant at the other end and only Munaf to come — both no great shakes with the bat — Dhoni still did not go for a big shot.

He instead chose to scamper for a double after Farverz Maharoof started the final over with a wide. More than in the last over, there was drama in the penultimate over. Lasith Malinga bowled some toe-crunching yorkers and got rid of Harbhajan — off his fourth ball — to raise hopes of a win.

Here is a bowler who had taken a four in four in a World Cup match to almost take his side to a near-impossible win. Two balls and two wickets, he could have done what he had failed to do against South Africa in the West Indies. But Dhoni instilled some wisdom in Ishant on how to avoid the slinger’s toe-crushers.

The successful chase was also well choreographed by born-again Yuvraj, who struck his first half-century in over two months of stay in Australia. Yuvraj’s regal knock — 70 balls, 10 fours, one six - helped India keep the run rate in check. Yuvraj was helped by a useful contribution from Rohit Sharma (24).  More critical was Irfan’s contribution with the bat. The all-rounder rose to the occasion and his 31 was key as India had gone into the match with one batsman less.

The decision to go in with five bowlers once again proved a masterstroke as India managed to limit Sri Lanka’s total to 238, which was made possible by a workman-like century from Kumara Sangakkara and his 153-run third-wicket partnership with skipper Mahela Jayawardene.

The equation
After Tuesday’s win, India, with 12 points, improved their chances of reaching the finals. But one more win in the remaining two matches should seal the issue. Sri Lanka have half of India’s points but have one extra match. They can make the title clash with two wins, if India lose the remaining two matches. Australia are comfortably placed at 17 points with three matches to go.

If Australia lose all three matches, Sri Lanka win all their matches and India beat the hosts with a bonus point, Ricky Ponting & Co could be eliminated before the final. But that is something as possible as snow falling here at this point of time.