When Dhoni scored a duck
I went to the same school as Mahender Singh Dhoni. It is the only trivia question , which can be asked about me.Needless to say , Iam a diehard fan.
Our man had already been a match winner on numerous occasions in One day cricket. And when he came to the crease at the fall of Yuvraj's wicket against SriLanka , I was harbouring hopes of an encore.There was an encore , yes, of his duck against bangladesh.As India fell further down the mire, it was a feeling of deja vu for me.
Flashback to 1995. Mahender Singh Dhoni was the superstar batsman of the school team.On the day of the inter-school final against Kendriya Vidyalaya Hinoo , I was bunking classes to see the match. DAV batted first and Dhoni , the youngest member of the team, was sitting on the lap of a fellow player, waiting for his turn as the one down batsman.
The first wicket fell fairly quickly and me and my fellow bunking buddies were suddenly giddy in anticipation of the pyrotechnics that were to follow.Our man strode to the wicket full of confidence ,completely ignoring the dismissed opener.Took his guard , surveyed the field placings and got ready to take strike.
The first ball was down the leg side.Dhoni went across to play a leg glance and as he did so, he lost balance, falling forward and dragging his back leg out of the crease.The bails were off in a flash and he was given out immediately. The Dhoni show was over.There was a sudden hush among the DAV supporters as we sat in complete disbelief.
The match was as good as over for me. DAV had lots of other stars and were expected to romp home anyways.There wasn't any fun in watching the lambs get slughtered.
More shocks were in store. Our star studded line up was bowled out for less than 75 and the so-called lambs finished the game in a canter, with more than 20 overs to spare and 8 wickets left. Shades of India -Bangladesh.
Next year , I was busy with my 12th boards and hardly followed the inter-schools tournament.Well almost, till they got to the finals.It was DAV vs KV once again.It was a time for revenge.We were hoping the guys delivered this time,just to set the record straight.
The revenge was of mammoth propotions. Dhoni opened and carried his bat for around 240 unbeaten , putting on an unbroken stand of 360 in 40 overs. KV were bowled out for less than 100 and the revenge was complete . This was the defining moment of Dhoni's school career.The beginning of a journey ,which has made him an India Superstar.
Back to March 2007.The journey is not over with another duck. Trust me , Dhoni can repeat the entire "DAV- KV" story all over again. He fits the bill perfectly for a modern day power cricketer. He was the first guy to score a double century in schools cricket and dont be surprised if he becomes the first one in one dayers as well.
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Our man had already been a match winner on numerous occasions in One day cricket. And when he came to the crease at the fall of Yuvraj's wicket against SriLanka , I was harbouring hopes of an encore.There was an encore , yes, of his duck against bangladesh.As India fell further down the mire, it was a feeling of deja vu for me.
Flashback to 1995. Mahender Singh Dhoni was the superstar batsman of the school team.On the day of the inter-school final against Kendriya Vidyalaya Hinoo , I was bunking classes to see the match. DAV batted first and Dhoni , the youngest member of the team, was sitting on the lap of a fellow player, waiting for his turn as the one down batsman.
The first wicket fell fairly quickly and me and my fellow bunking buddies were suddenly giddy in anticipation of the pyrotechnics that were to follow.Our man strode to the wicket full of confidence ,completely ignoring the dismissed opener.Took his guard , surveyed the field placings and got ready to take strike.
The first ball was down the leg side.Dhoni went across to play a leg glance and as he did so, he lost balance, falling forward and dragging his back leg out of the crease.The bails were off in a flash and he was given out immediately. The Dhoni show was over.There was a sudden hush among the DAV supporters as we sat in complete disbelief.
The match was as good as over for me. DAV had lots of other stars and were expected to romp home anyways.There wasn't any fun in watching the lambs get slughtered.
More shocks were in store. Our star studded line up was bowled out for less than 75 and the so-called lambs finished the game in a canter, with more than 20 overs to spare and 8 wickets left. Shades of India -Bangladesh.
Next year , I was busy with my 12th boards and hardly followed the inter-schools tournament.Well almost, till they got to the finals.It was DAV vs KV once again.It was a time for revenge.We were hoping the guys delivered this time,just to set the record straight.
The revenge was of mammoth propotions. Dhoni opened and carried his bat for around 240 unbeaten , putting on an unbroken stand of 360 in 40 overs. KV were bowled out for less than 100 and the revenge was complete . This was the defining moment of Dhoni's school career.The beginning of a journey ,which has made him an India Superstar.
Back to March 2007.The journey is not over with another duck. Trust me , Dhoni can repeat the entire "DAV- KV" story all over again. He fits the bill perfectly for a modern day power cricketer. He was the first guy to score a double century in schools cricket and dont be surprised if he becomes the first one in one dayers as well.
11 comments:
Hmm.. interesting read ... I hope you are correct! We want revenge. :)
Revenge against whom? They didn't beat us... it was we who lost to Bangladesh. Complete lack of application.
I totally agree that we lost it. What iam trying to say here, is that my man Dhoni has enough character to bounce back with a vengeance, after scoring a duck. And I saw him doing it once before.
As long as he gets the opportunity to get the revenge on a subcontinent wicket. Sorry to say but your man's performance on non subcontinental wickets leave a lot to be desired. Though same is the case with most of our "MEN".
Had a guy in the college cricket team (the fringes actually ) who used to tell me stories about DHoni in his school days.. Supposedly he used to bowl to THE MAN then. And people from all over used to watch his outlandish shots then as well.
I do second KK though .. I ve always had my reservations abt his batting against top quality opposition on difficult wickets. Hitting a Dave Mohammad , Justin Kemp or Tillekeratne Dilshan out of the ground is completely different from taking a Lee or Mcgrath or Pollock to the cleaners.
Desperately hoping for a KV-DAV rematch kinda performance though.
I think after SA's defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, the public is gonna go soft on the existing crop of cricketers.
Dude, is Dhoni's recent 90-odd against Bangladesh revenge enough?
No my dear friend. For revenge to be enough, the performance has to come on the biggest stage and most critical occassion. A matchwinning 90 in a decisive game in the World cup, perhaps.
Wishful thinking mate. But thats what keeps us going I guess.
My friend, he has won enough games for India to make me dream.
School Cricket is very interesting and brings back the nostalgia in a huge wave. I remember my School's cricket final in my class 12. It was also my debut (thanks to the reservation policy and quota). By the virtue of being the only male in my house who followed cricket in class 12, I made it to the team as a "No Rounder". Didnt Sachin and Kambli score double tons in an inter school match? Dhoni's double ton is probably Ranchi's first. I wish he scores the ODI double ton.
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