Masterstroke: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's move to No. 4 needs to be a permanent one

“He’s such a danger to play against. I would like to see him bat up the order especially in the abbreviated version of the game. You want your best batsmen to face as many deliveries as possible. He has a lot on his plate, I understand that. But I would encourage him to bat higher in the order.” – Gilchrist on Dhoni in 2009. Fast-forward to 2015: Just as Nasir Hossain trapped Virat Kohli LBW in the 13th over of the 2nd ODI, he went berserk in celebrations. It was a big wicket and the hostility was palpable with a few words exchanged as Kohli trudged off. The crowd became delirious and it took some time to realise that MS Dhoni had walked out to the middle, at no. 4. As things settled down, it surprised everyone. Dhoni at No. 4? Really? Over the years, India have been craving for Dhoni to come up the order but it had remained a rare occurrence. [caption id=“attachment_2312374” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of MS Dhoni. AFP[/caption] Dhoni made 47 off 75 balls but there were lingering thoughts that it was a one-off, a trick that the Dhoni has pulled before on many occasions. India have been tinkering with the No. 4 position for some time having utilised Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu in that position in the last one year. But at the end of the second match, he hinted that the move up the order might be a long term one. “The whole idea was for me to go up and play more freely,” Dhoni said. “The last four-five years, I have batted at 6, and there is always some kind of pressure other so I have not been able to bat freely. I wanted to get set and bat freely, but when I got set we lost wickets. Then we had to build some kind of partnership before we could go after the bowlers, then again we lost a couple of wickets. It was not really possible,” he said. “I would like to bat slightly up in the order so I can play a bit more freely. Yes I have adapted to what the team needed of me since 2006, but for the longer run it is important for us to see who is a good batter at No. 6, at 7 or even maybe 5. That is why I dropped (Suresh) Raina (down the order). He has been successful at that slot,” he added. After a defeat in the 2nd ODI, India desperately needed a win in the third to avoid the humiliation of a whitewash. Dhoni strode out to the middle in the 20th over and scored 69 off 77 balls adding crucial stands of 44 runs with Shikhar Dhawan and then 93 with Ambati Rayudu. That set the platform for Raina for a late burst as India finally managed to put up a decent batting effort. The most impressive part of his batting was the way he handled Mustafizur Rahman - the bowler who most Indian batsmen were clueless against. He showed the other batsmen how to tackle the tricky left-arm pacer. He was ready to wait on the back foot and tackle his deadly cutters and showed the youngsters how it’s done. The move to No.4 was actually a masterstroke. If you look at the stats, Dhoni averages 74.77 batting at No.3 or No.4 while he averages 47.81 batting below 4. Which means he has to face more balls and also a startling fact is that his strike rate is quite higher at 3-4 - 99.55 compared to 86.15 below four. Which means that he gets to play his game freely after being set. With Virat Kohli around, he might not take his place at No. 3 but he’s prolific at no. 4 too, his average of 68.14 is the best at No. 4 in ODIs (for players with minimum 1000 runs) He has scored 1026 runs from 20 innings at a strike rate of 99.41. Also, India have lost just 4 out of the 20 matches in which he has batted at No. 4. In the 16 matches that India have won, Dhoni has averaged 80.54 with one hundred, nine fifties at a strike rate of 102.19. Dhawan described the importance of Dhoni moving up the order after the 3rd ODI. “It gives me a lot of confidence to see him walk into the middle while I am at the crease. We also enjoy each other’s company and so it’s fun batting with him,” Dhawan told BCCI.tv “The way he adapts to various situations makes my life easier. Today I couldn’t get the off-spinner (Nasir Hossain) away and he hit a four and a six in an over against him. That kept me from taking any unwarranted risk. He also rotates the strike excellently when required and doesn’t let any scoreboard pressure build on his partner. Having him in the middle-order is very advantageous for us. I feel it ís a very good move,” he added. Dhoni paces his innings to perfection. He is shrewd and adapts to the situation really well. He is also one of the best runners between the wickets and he can play the shrewd gully cricket game with cheeky singles which always keeps the scoreboard ticking. This releases a lot of pressure in the middle overs. When it comes to ODIs, he is one of India’s best batsman and one of the most lethal finishers too. The move up the order means he thinks that he is the best bet at that position now. We’ve also seen in the past that Dhoni is a master at nullifying the effect of genuine threats in pressure situations. One of his best innings came in the 2011 World Cup final where he promoted himself up the order to no. 5, ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh. He negated the effect of the Sri Lankan spinners - Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv and Tillakaratne Dilshan by taking cheeky singles and an odd boundary to unsettle them. The move worked wonders and Dhoni’s innings of 91 off 79 helped India lift the trophy. In the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh, Rahane was dropped and one of the reasons Dhoni cited was the inability of the Mumbai batsman to rotate the strike. “He needs pace. We have seen that he plays a lot better on pitches that have some pace. But on a slow pitch, whenever he has batted at No. 4 or 5, he does have a problem in freely rotating the strike at the start of his innings. I think Ajinkya will have to wait,” he had said. All this suggests that Dhoni at No. 4 is the best bet for India – it is, in fact, a move that needs to be permanent. But what happens when Rahane gets back into the team? What happens during overseas tours? Do we move back to the days when we had certain openers in India and different ones for overseas tours? Well, India has had too much tinkering with the batting order of late and this makes it difficult for the other batsmen to settle down or adapt quickly. Dhoni should now stick to batting at No.4. In the past we have seen him push himself up and down the order regularly but it’s time to stabilise and who knows, this might even bring back shades of the old Dhoni - The Dhoni who blew away Sri Lanka with his breathtaking 145-ball 183 on that hot afternoon at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium ten years ago. And wouldn’t we love to see that.