Dhoni ruling with the bat after stepping down from captaincy

Earlier this year, MS Dhoni gave up the limited overs captaincy after staying at the helm for almost a decade. Ever since the captaincy pressure came off, Dhoni has been scoring runs on a consistent basis. He has produced some valuable knocks this year with most of them coming under pressure situations. Among those players who have scored more than 500 runs this year, MS Dhoni tops the list with a stupendous batting average of 89.57.

He has scored a total of 627 runs this year so far and with India set to play a prolonged season of ODI cricket, he may have well set his eye on scoring 1000 runs this year, a feat he last achieved in 2009. His brilliant batting this year has been one of the prime reasons behind some of India’s victories this year.

He scored a magnificent hundred against England earlier this year when India were in a spot of bother. In Champions Trophy, he got to bat just twice out of which he scored a half-century in one. He displayed his valor in the Sri Lankan series by driving India out of tense situations and stitching splendid partnerships with the lower order. The Sri Lankan bowlers failed to dismiss him throughout the series.

However, his best came up in the first One-Day International against Australia where Dhoni came out to bat when India were 64/4. Having lost the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early, the onus again fell on him to deliver and recover India from the early slump. That’s when he, along with Hardik Pandya, stitched a 118 run partnership for the sixth wicket. Dhoni played a sensational knock of 79 runs as he paced his innings according to the situation which helped India post a competitive total on the board.

The current patch has come after a backdrop of a poor year with the bat and constant criticism from the experts. It seems like Dhoni has regained his touch now which means the opposition should well be wary of the threats he poses batting at the lower order. The Helicopter is back to deliver some more punches.