Dhoni in distress, team in trouble

Indore, October 13

Going through the toughest phase of his cricketing life, an under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni will seek to revive his career and change the fortunes of his dispirited team when the hosts take on South Africa in the second One-dayer here on Wednesday.

With critics gunning for his head, Dhoni finds himself in a challenging situation. His form has been patchy, and he evidently does not strike fear in the hearts of bowlers anymore. In the first ODI in Kanpur, he had a perfect opportunity to silence his critics but he faltered in the botched-up chase. With the World T20 not too far away, time seems to be running out for Dhoni, the man once considered indispensable in limited-overs formats.

Come Wednesday, the spotlight would be on Dhoni and his leadership skills. The remaining four matches of the series could be vital in deciding where his career goes from here.

Batting a mixed bag

The Indian batting line-up at the moment seems to be a bit of a mixed bag – Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are in fine touch but the likes of Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and the skipper himself are struggling to get runs. While Rohit has already struck two sublime hundreds – one in a T20 game at Dharamsala, and the other in the first ODI in Kanpur – his partner Dhawan’s form is a cause of concern. Returning to the side, Rahane proved his worth with a vital 60 in Kanpur, and he would be looking to carry on with the good form. Kohli, too, has been out of form for a while now and the lack of runs from his willow is hurting the team. Suresh Raina, too, hasn’t done anything of note in the recent past.

Bowling a bigger worry

Yet, it’s not batting that Dhoni would be losing his sleep over. It’s the performance of his bowlers and the absence of his go-to man R Ashwin, who’s unavailable after picking up an injury, that would be troubling him. Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav looked ordinary in front of AB de Villiers and other South African batters, while Binny is yet to prove himself with the ball. De Villiers, who powered South Africa past the 300-run mark in Kanpur with a 73-ball unbeaten 104, went hammer and tongs as the Indian bowlers conceded more than 100 runs in the last 10 overs in the first ODI.

The saving grace for Dhoni and Indian has been the spin duo of Ashwin and leggie Amit Mishra, but with Ashwin now out at least till the third ODI, this department, too, has taken a severe beating.

South Africa, on the other hand, are a confident lot and are eyeing their first-ever ODI series win on Indian soil. The South African bowling attack looks ominous with the return of speedsters Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, who were rested in the shortest format. Young Kagiso Rabada, who impressed in the T20s, proved he belongs to the big stage by keeping a cool head while defending the total in the final over in Kanpur. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir, as usual, has been De Villiers go-to man in crunch situations.

The battling unit looks more ominous than their bowling. De Villiers has smashed a ton, JP Duminy is in cracking form, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla have shown good touch, and Farhaan Behardien looks solid lower down the order.

Live on Star Sports 1.30 pm