Dhoni is better than Bevan. He is the BEST finisher in the game

Watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni bat in a chase is a learning experience — the way he builds an innings; the way he calms the nerves of the other batsmen; the way he makes them contribute; the way he gives the opposition no chance at all. What the Indian skipper brings to the middle isn’t quantifiable. It’s simply magic. As he led India to another win in the third ODI against England at Mohali, none of us were surprised. We had seen him do it so many times before, that only if he fails would we question his method. The template of his innings is normally a slow start as he settles in, lots of singles and then he builds to a crescendo. The innings he played in the World Cup final was exactly that – it wasn’t a fluke; it’s the way he plays. There are images of Mahendra Singh Dhoni that are stuck in our heads — most of them have him holding the bat, hitting the winnings runs. It isn’t a sheer coincidence that he is there so many times at the end, guiding India to victory — with a twirl of the bat, a smile on his face and the helicopter shot thrown in for good effect. The science of chasing tactics is something that Dhoni is privy to alone – because only he knows what goes on in his head. But the numbers are there for all to see and they are simply astounding. [caption id=“attachment_114051” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“If England wants to win even one match in the series, they will have to get Dhoni out. Getty Images.”]  [/caption] Fathom this. In ODIs, Dhoni has played 194 matches. Of those matches, he’s not had to bat in 21 games, so that gives him a total of 173 innings. Now, he’s been not out 46 times in these matches. Now, here comes the clincher: Of the 46 times that he has been not out; India has lost just three matches. Just three… That gives India a winning percentage of 93.5 per cent when Dhoni is at the wicket. For someone who has been playing ODIs since 2004, that is a frightening statistic. It also shows that he is the best finisher in ODI cricket at present, perhaps even the best the world has ever seen. To most of us who have a keen interest in the game, the best finisher of the game was a certain, Michael Bevan. The Australian was simply superb. He had a keen sense of occasion, knew how to pace his innings and more often than not, he helped Australia to victory. But not even Bevan was as potent as Dhoni is. The Australian played a total of 232 ODIs for Australia and was not out 67 times in 196 innings. But Australia lost 13 matches even when Bevan was around in the end. That gives Bevan a finishing percentage of 80.6. The difference is big. Perhaps one of the reasons for the difference is the strike-rate. While Dhoni’s strike-rate is 88.34, Bevan was positively slow in comparison with an SR of 74.16. And come the big match, Dhoni seems to find his best form too. In 11 finals, he has an average of 49.77. Cometh the moment, cometh the man. He just can’t be denied and perhaps because he’s done it so many times before, it just seems like another day at the office to him. For a long time, India’s problems in ODIs used to stem from their inability to finish things off. We would invariably start well but then stall at crucial moments. For a while, Ajay Jadeja filled the slot. Then there was Robin Singh. Even Rahul Dravid had a go but nobody was as good as Dhoni. No one even came close. If one were asked to explain India’s recent success in ODIs in one word, all clues would simply point to Dhoni. As long as he’s around, India has hope. And if he stays in long enough, India will win. So far, that’s the way it’s been. If England wants to win even one match in the series, they will have to get Dhoni out. Or else they might as well be up a creek without a paddle because they are fighting against the tide and you can rarely ever fight nature and come out triumphant.