MS Dhoni scripts India's historic win in Australia

World
Europe

A 37-year-old former captain, who was at the receiving end of many trolls on social media and whose glittering career was believed to be over by many Indian fans, silenced the doomsday mongers and proved his critics wrong when he played one of the magnificent innings of his life to help India win a historic first-ever bilateral one day international series in Australia against the hosts.

An unflappable Mahendra Singh Dhoni's winning 87 off 114 balls not only thrashed the “age-is-catching-up-with-him” theory but also clinched a stunning seven-wicket victory for his side in the third and final ODI of the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night.

Chahal hits Aussies for a six

India's Yuzvendra Chahal acknowledges the crowd after taking six wickets for the innings during the third one-day international match between Australia and India at the MCG in Melbourne. /VCG Photo

If India's 2011 World Cup-winning captain Dhoni was the architect of the emphatic triumph at the Big G, it was a FIDE ranked Indian chess player, who had earlier checkmated the Aussie batsmen to lay the foundation for the victory with his mesmerizing maneuvering act with the ball after the home side was put into bat first by Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, who had represented his country in Asian and world chess championships at the junior level, was brought into the playing eleven for the first time in the series and went on to bamboozle the Aussie batsmen since striking an in-form Shaun Marsh with his second delivery of the match.

Chahal returned with a record-equaling match-figure of six for 42 while India's pace spearheads Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who dismissed his ‘bunny,' Australian skipper Aaron Finch, for the third consecutive time in the series, and Mohammed Shami picked up two wickets apiece as the Australian were bundled out for 230 runs.

Dhoni drives India home safely

India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni plays a shot during the third one-day international cricket match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. /VCG Photo

In reply, India made a slow and shaky start losing both their openers early in the innings. Kohli and Dhoni salvaged the situation and put together a half-century partnership before the captain perished for 46.

Then, Kedar Yadav, who was also inducted to the playing eleven for the first time in the series, joined hands with Dhoni and played a superb second fiddle to Dhoni's patient masterpiece that saw the visiting side, after surviving a few jittery moments and overcoming a few hiccups, wrapping up the match with 4 balls to spare.

Both Dhoni and Yadav, who got a few lives and survived some missed chances, stayed calm and composed throughout the nail-biting later stages of the game.

India's MS Dhoni (2nd L) and Kedar Jadhav (2nd R) celebrate after defeating Australia during the third one-day international cricket match. /VCG Photo

Yadav remained unbeaten on 61 off 57 deliveries as Man of the Series Dhoni, scoring three successive half-centuries in as many games, ended the series with a mind-boggling average of 193.00.

Incidentally, a veteran Dhoni, a prolific wicket-keeper-batsman, came under fire after being able to score just 275 runs with a disastrous average of 25.00 in the whole of 2018 and many critics wanted him to be dropped from the side as India is building its squad for the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup in England and Wales later this year.

India will now head across the Tasmanian Sea to play a series against New Zealand while Australia will play host to another Asian side, Sri Lanka in a bilateral series.