Former Australia captain Michael Clarke recently praised Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his series-clinching win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck an unbeaten 87 to guide India to a historic ODI bilateral series win against Australia as the visitors beat the hosts by seven wickets in the decisive third match.
The former India skipper’s role going into the business end of his illustrious career is that of an anchor, who takes the game deep. He performed his role to perfection with a world-class exhibition of running between the wickets in what could well be his last match on the Australian soil. Not to forget the ‘Man of the Series’ award for a hat-trick of half-centuries and two coming in winning causes.
Following India’s victory, while talking to the official broadcasters, Clarke said that Dhoni is more experienced now and he plays according to the situation and not reputation. “Dhoni has gone from a Lamborghini to an Aston Martin. He is still unbelievable,” Clarke told Sony Six. “There is an adjustment. He is more experienced now, he knows his game better now. He acknowledges his partner at the other end more now.”
“When MS Dhoni started, he didn’t need a partner. Whether his partner got a duck, scored a fifty or a century, if they needed 50 off 20 balls, the partner’s job was to get Dhoni on strike. Now he knows how important it is for his partner to be able to find that boundary and lead up to Dhoni pressing gold. He’s had that in the last two games,” the former Australia skipper added.
Earlier, Australia coach Justin Langer also praised Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he also called him a superstar and an all-time great of the game. “He (Dhoni) is 37 years old. His running between the wickets is elite, and his fitness is elite. For him to run between the wickets for three days in a row, it was 40 degrees the other day, and play like that, he is a superstar of the game and that’s what Australians should be aspiring to be — superstars of the game,” said Langer.
“MS Dhoni, like Virat Kohli, like Cheteshwar Pujara in the Test series, they give us really great role models. MS Dhoni, his record, everything speaks for itself as a captain, batsman, wicket-keeper. He is literally an all-time great of the game and it has been, as hard as it is to lose, a privilege to play against those guys.”