Dhoni's absence felt

When Australia beat India in the fourth ODI on Sunday as they chased down a record 359. Where on one hand, the spinners were finding it difficult to grip the ball because of the dew, and on the other hand in the final overs of the ODI in Mohali, India missed a leader. With Virat Kohli fielding on the fence and MS Dhoni not in the side, the team looked directionless. It's fine for Kohli, the fastest and fittest fielder in the side, to man the boundary when Dhoni is around, for the latter would tinker the field, conceive plans for the spinners and, more importantly, sustain the intensity with his impeccable composure.

It's a trait that Kohli himself acknowledged in Australia when he said: "When Mahi bhai is there, there is always serenity in the middle, a clarity to our plans." But when he is not around and things are not going his way, there seems to creep in a wave of contagious twitchiness. For, Kohli, at times, is reactive, his thinking linear and pedantic, whereas Dhoni is more spontaneous and on the ball in this format. In that vein, Kohli's ODI captaincy is comparable to Dhoni's leadership in Tests in the last stretch of his career.

Muhammad Zaid, Ramanagara