World T20: Finisher Dhoni takes fresh guard

There's something romantic about MS Dhoni and the last over. No matter the magnanimity of the occasion, probability of the task or nature of opposition, Dhoni has an uncanny knack of making the last over his own.

And as Dhoni leads India to the field against New Zealand in their World T20 opener here on Tuesday, he is bound to feel much like he does when he takes strike for many of his final overs.

There have been murmurs ever since the Ranchi man's Test retirement in late 2014 that he will call it a day after this mega event. True to his style, however, Dhoni has been rubbishing that notion across many platforms before the tournament. But the probability of the 34-year-old leading India to another World Cup remain as low as him missing an easy stumping. This might thus well be Dhoni's final world event, and the skipper would want to leave no stone unturned in adding another feather to his rich India cap.

This was evident during the team's training session in the hot afternoon at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Monday. Dhoni skipped the captain's pre-match press conference – not the first time he has done that – and instead chose to walk out with his team for a game of football. When everyone had taken their positions, Dhoni made the kick-off to start proceedings.

Football formalities done, Dhoni took his bat and went straight to the pitch adjacent to the protected match wicket. He thumped it numerous times with his willow and then stood at the edge of it, watching his players go about their fielding drills. Dhoni stood there all alone, having a close look at each of his players' catching and throwing efforts. A couple of ground staff came up to him to have a word. Dhoni entertained them for a brief while, his eyes going back to his boys within seconds.

Those eyes remained glued even when his batsmen went out to have a hit at the nets. Dhoni stood right behind fielding coach R Sridhar who was giving throwdowns, noticing every shot of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. The skipper then sat with Dhawan on one of those ice boxes, having a long conversation with him.

Dhoni probably knows the importance of motivating his troop, many of whom would not know what it takes to win a world event. It was in this tournament in 2007 that a long-haired, ever-smiling youngster inspired a group of talented bunch to script one of the most memorable fairy tales in Indian cricket. Since then, Dhoni has seen those kids grow into men, and has himself been at the centre of the various highs and lows of the sport in the country.

Dhoni has been praised, criticised, celebrated, shamed. There have been many who have questioned his captaincy, his proactive, calm-in-all-situations nature. His batting technique in the longer format of the game was put under scrutiny, and more recently, his ability to finish games in coloured clothing was doubted upon. Finisher finished?

Not quite.

It was Dhoni's time to have a hit at the nets as the Kiwi bowlers training alongside paused for a moment to catch a glimpse. First ball from Ravindra Jadeja, a hoick over midwicket. Second ball from Ashish Nehra, a crisp drive. A couple of balls later, a pull over square leg. Those skiers from Dhoni, which went missing for a period, were taking off beautifully off his bat on Monday.

And as Dhoni walked from the sunshine on one half of the ground to the shade of the other towards the pavilion, he would've felt quietly confident of doing what he did nine years ago all over again in the next 20 days.

If the 2007 World T20 victory signalled the birth of the new Men in Blue under Dhoni, the 2011 World Cup was about it attaining maturity. Would 2016 be the final high?

It's the last over. Dhoni is taking guard.