In Stats: Where the MSD-Kohli Mohali Partnership Stands in History
Take a look at the third ODI between India and New Zealand through numbers.
.jpg?rect=0%2C0%2C1536%2C864)
advertisement
India went 2-1 up in the five-match ODI series against New Zealand after they defeated the visitors by 7 wickets in the third one-day international played in Mohali on Sunday. After dismissing the visitors for 285, the home side cruised past the target – riding on a superb century from Virat Kohli and a purposeful half-century from the captain MS Dhoni.
India’s chase was scripted by two specialists, who didn’t waste any time in getting to work. When Virat Kohli, who was handed a reprieve when he was batting on 6, and MS Dhoni got together in the ninth over, India still had a long way to go. They still needed 245 runs at nearly a run-a-ball.
But the two experienced pros took control of the situation immediately. They punished the loose deliveries, created opportunities when they saw the need for it, and ran hard between the wickets to ensure the scoreboard was always ticking. There was never a moment after Kohli and Dhoni got together when the Indian team felt the pressure of the chase.
Eventually, Kohli’s 26th century in ODIs, Dhoni’s 91-ball 80, and their 151-run partnership ensured India could breeze past the target. While Dhoni was dismissed in the 36th over, Kohli stayed until the end and ensured the job was done.
Both players reached personal milestones along the way. Dhoni became the fifth Indian batsman (and only the third wicketkeeper after Kumar Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist) to join the 9000 ODI runs club. The Indian captain reached the milestone in style, slamming the left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner for a six straight over his head.
Dhoni hit two more sixes thereafter, which took him to the top of the list of most sixes hit by an Indian batsman in ODIs. He has now hit 196 sixes, which is one more than the 195 sixes Sachin Tendulkar hit in his 452 ODI innings.
One got to see plenty of intent during Dhoni’s innings on Sunday. There were observations in sections of the media that Dhoni had developed a problem against the short ball.
It was observed on The Quint that he had been tied up by the left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner. On Sunday, Dhoni was in punishing mood; his first aggressive stroke was a pull shot off a short delivery bowled by Tim Southee. Faced against Santner, who had kept him quiet in the first two matches, Dhoni showed signs of aggression, hitting him for two sixes straight down the ground.
When Manish Pandey struck the winning boundary, he had the company of Virat Kohli at the other end. Kohli’s unbeaten 154 – his 14th hundred while had led his team to a win – equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most hundreds scored by a player in successful run-chases in ODIs.
Earlier in the afternoon, put into bat, the Kiwis suffered a mid-innings collapse yet again. From being comfortably placed at 153-2, they lost six wickets for 46 runs to be reduced to 199-8. But a rearguard partnership between Jimmy Neesham and Matt Henry, who added 84 runs – making it New Zealand’s highest ninth wicket partnership in ODIs – gave the Kiwis some total to bowl at.
The individual responsible for triggering that collapse was the leg-spinner Amit Mishra. Mishra isn’t a regular member in the Indian team and doesn’t often get his due; but on Sunday, he bowled beautifully, deceiving both Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi and dragging them out of the crease, leaving it to MS Dhoni to whip the bails off.
For someone who isn’t a regular in the one-day team, it is amazing to note that Mishra’s numbers are comparable to the numbers of some of the top spinners. After 34 ODIs – which is as many matches Mishra has played so far – he has taken 57 wickets, which is just four fewer than the wickets the great Shane Warne took after 34 ODIs, and one wicket more than the mystery bowler Sunil Narine.
To put things in the context of Indian cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin had taken 50 wickets in his first 34 ODIs, while Harbhajan Singh picked up 42 wickets and the current Indian coach Anil Kumble had only 29 wickets in his first 34 ODIs.