MS Dhoni always rises to the occasion says, Michael Clarke

The Rising Pune Supergiant have realised who they should call in the case of a crisis, and it is none other than the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Enter the right-handed batsman in the 13th over, with Supergiants’ struggling at 89/3. Dhoni was still batting on 14 runs from 17 deliveries, with Pune’s scoreboard reading 121/3 in 18 overs against the two-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians.

But things did not go down as Mumbai would have expected, with Dhoni changing such scripts regularly. The wicketkeeper exploded in typical style as Pune smashed 41 runs off the last two overs to end up with a total of 162 which was eventually 20 more than what Mumbai achieved.

Former Australian World Cup winning skipper Michael Clarke has always been a long-standing believer in Dhoni’s abilities both as a skipper and a batsman.

“That changed the game. The fact that Pune managed to get over the 160-run mark, the confidence in the change room was different. Pune took that momentum walking in to the field. The pitch was such that it took batsmen some time to get in and MS did take some time but he knew he could change it in the end,” Clarke told India Today.

Dhoni’s wicketkeeping goes unnoticed

The former Aussie skipper believes that Dhoni’s real value is undermined due to his batting display, with people not understanding how much he contributes on the field.

“What has gone unnoticed is his wicketkeeping. That’s his primary job and he has been the best in the competition.
Secondly, he is a batsman and you want him to bat well because you know how good he is and on Tuesday night he did that.

“The other thing about great players which MS does is to stand up when the team needs you the most. He is one of the few who stands up on big occasions consistently. Tuesday night was another example,” he added.

Dhoni is the best in the world

Clarke went on to add that Dhoni is still one of the most valuable players in the Indian squad despite the emergence of Virat Kohli as the captain. In addition to MSK Prasad’s comments on Dhoni, the Aussie also feels that veteran is still the best wicketkeeper in the entire world.

“I think he is still as good as he has been. I have said this through the IPL and will continue to say that through the Champions Trophy, India have made a smart decision in picking him for the tournament.

“He deserves to be there. He is the best wicketkeeper in the country. His batting is still as good as it always was. He has showed form in patches in the IPL and I have no doubt he will show us (what he can do) in Champions Trophy,” Clarke added.

Clarke concluded by saying that he wants to see the 35-year-old at No.5 consistently to get the best impact possible, just as in the case of Symonds in the Australian team.

“I am really interested to see where Virat bats him in the Champions Trophy. I would bat him at No.4 in T20 cricket and 5 in ODIs like Australia did with Andrew Symonds. His experience, his skill will play a huge role if India are to win the trophy,” the Australian concluded.