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MS Dhoni crawls to half-century, second slowest in Indian cricket history
MS Dhoni scored 54 off 114 balls in the fourth ODI for India against West Indies on Sunday. It was the slowest half-century by an Indian in more than a decade.
Former India skipper MS Dhoni scored his 64th half-century here on Sunday to keep India in the game during the fourth One-Day International (ODI) against West Indies at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium. This was the second slowest fifty for India in the ODIs. He took 108 balls to reach it.
Dhoni’s 58 off 108 balls is the slowest ODI half-century by an Indian in more than a decade. Before this Sourav Ganguly scored a fifty in 103 balls against Sri Lanka in 2005.
Dhoni, whose 78 not out in the previous game rescued India and helped them score a resounding win, was once again at the forefront, trying to rescue the team after the top order caved in while chasing a meagre 190-run target.
The wicketkeeper-batsman came in at the fall of Dinesh Karthik and got down to the job of consolidating the innings, trying to curb his instincts on a wicket that seemed two-paced and difficult to bat.
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Quite interestingly, his run to the half-century had just one boundary and that came when he was well set on 42. It was a short delivery down the leg by off-spinner Roston Chase that brought his first boundary.
Chasing a low total meant no need to commit hara-kiri and Dhoni just buckled down to ensure that West Indies didn’t have it easy.
For someone whose ODI strike rate is 89, it was an amazing show of composure as he scored at a rate of less than 50.
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Although there was almost no crowd at the start, a few fans did walk in to watch the game as West Indies fought back.
The care with which Dhoni built his innings was evident with the way he played his shots carefully watching the ball. But while he showed care, there was nothing attractive in the way he built his innings.
He swatted a wide ball to long-off which looked ungainly and the way he defended the ball often, keeping the bat away from the body while trying to keep it down, looked even more ugly.
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He got an inside edge, struggled to time the ball away but stuck on. The hard work and patience was worth it and he seemed like he was playing with patience.
In the end, Dhoni got out for 54 off 114 balls. India lost to the West Indies by 11 runs after being bowled out for 178.
