Dhoni should now bat up the order regularly

It was a very good comeback by India at Indore, led from the front by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This win could provide the Indian team a much needed impetus for the rest of the series but they know that with the quality players on both sides, it would be the team that plays well on the particular day that will be the difference.

It was good to see Dhoni play so well. It’s doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that to score runs, one has to play the maximum number of deliveries one can and I hope he will understand that. There was never any doubt of him scoring runs at this level but I hope this knock will have the desired mental effect where he will think of consistently coming up the order.

Also, for Captain Dhoni to be at his best, batsman Dhoni will have to be successful because Dhoni with runs under his belt is a totally different leader. One must remember that he doesn’t play all forms of the game now, so the gap between series is bound affect him.

His captaincy also was a lot better and he must understand that he is human, and his mental state will change depending on whether he has runs or not on the board. At Indore, Dhoni had to shoulder the responsibility as the Indian batting faltered on a double-paced pitch. What he does when he gets set is get so attacking that he helps the lower order as well. I hope he will not go down the order thinking he needs to be there to finish because if he gets set he will finish in any case.

The Indian bowlers gave a very good account of themselves and were backed by some inspired fielding that put the brakes on the South Africans and put them under the pump. The plan of playing five bowlers also worked as it allowed them to put consistent pressure on the batting, but at the same time it’s a puzzle that will keep coming up all the time in the future.

After three losses in the first four matches of the tour India have bounced back in a game which, at the half-way mark, looked to be going the visitor’s way. The game at Rajkot will once again test both sides.

Normally, it is a high-scoring ground but in the recent Ranji games, the turn on the pitch has helped Ravindra Jadeja pick up a handful of wickets and it will be interesting to see how the surface plays during an international game. It will be a mindgame as well – the revived and exuberant Indians will test the South Africans mentally and it will be worth seeing how De Villiers & Co. will stand up to them. The toss will be crucial.

(Gameplan)