Mumbai: Bas ek hi dream adhura reh gaya (only one dream remained unfulfilled),” laments Ram Babu, the ardent MS Dhoni fan. “I wanted to see Mahi sir retire on the ground with me waving the India flag from the stands and then next to him. If he had done it that way, I and the entire country would have felt better.”
For 15 years, Babu had criss-crossed India and other countries in the subcontinent to cheer Dhoni in almost 200 India games. The team would give him a complimentary pass, and like Tendulkar fan Sudhir Chaudhary, Babu too would paint the tri-colour on his body with 7, Dhoni’s jersey number, prominent.
Though Dhoni’s die-hard fans will be disappointed, the timing has been just right. Had he chased a grand farewell, Dhoni would have unnecessarily stretched his India career. An ICC ODI World Cup semifinal, with a fighting half-century in the last innings, though in a losing cause, is not that bad. It saved India, 92/6 at one stage, humiliation as they ended just 18 runs short of victory.
If Dhoni doubted whether there was gas in the tank in that game against New Zealand, he merely had to look at the other end. Ravindra Jadeja was the aggressor and Dhoni was backing up (his strike rate was 69.44 to Jadeja’s 130.50). At his prime, it would be Dhoni who would have taken on the bowling.
Ajit Agarkar, who played in Dhoni’s India debut game, recalls: “Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh changed the concept of chasing in ODIs. They were so good at it that after their success, other teams also started to field first on winning the toss.”
The former India all-rounder lists the efforts he saw from the dressing room. “His 183 not out (145 balls) versus Sri Lanka at Jaipur (2005) and the chase at Lahore (ODI vs Pakistan, 2006)—Sri Lanka had posted a massive total (298/4) and Dhoni batted at No. 3 and won it. The atmosphere in the dressing room went crazy when he started smashing sixes (10). At Lahore too, Pakistan had posted a very good total (288/8) and their bowlers were in fine rhythm. Dhoni finished it off (72* off 46 balls) with a big partnership with Yuvraj.”
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