Sanjay Manjrekar Backs MS Dhoni on his ‘Great Philosophy’
Jan 19, 2019 at 4:29 PM
The cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has thrown unconditional support behind MS Dhoni’s ‘great philosophy’ and somewhat the intuitions—to take the game as close as possible.
“He [Dhoni] mentioned in the post-match presentation as well the calculations as to which bowler to go after and take the match deep. His great philosophy the one that has made him and all-time great is ‘stay there till the end,”‘ Manjrekar told Sony Six.
The 53-year-old Mysore-born Manjrekar further reiterated Team India‘s stalwart Dhoni has succeeded in delivering goods with his presence of mind. Manjrekar added the experienced professional is not at his best. But he has found his ways to tackle any of the situations.
“[Dhoni is] clearly not at his prime… The software – his intention, his mind is still at its prime. He knows exactly what is needed,” Manjrekar added.
Interestingly, with the first-ever bilateral series victory in Australia, it also saw Dhoni bagging the first Man of the Series award in the day-long format since 2011.
The 37-year-old Dhoni recorded a crucial partnership of 121 runs for the fourth wicket alongside Kedar Jadhav at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). On similar lines, Dhoni did the same with Dinesh Karthik after setting up a stand of 82 along with Virat Kohli at Adelaide.
For his slow-show of 91-ball 51, the detractors lashed-out at Dhoni’s following the 34-run loss in the One-day International (ODI) series opener at the SCG.
Manjrekar also sheds light on Dhoni’s ability and confidence:
However, Manjrekar added his hard-hitting prowess has taken a hit and eventually being low on confidence. Manjrekar termed Dhoni’s big-hitting ability as his hardware while comparing his mind with the software.
“The hardware is not quite keeping in touch with the software. The hardware was a lot better 5-10 years back. He would hit sixes at will… he doesn’t have that ability or the confidence now, but he finds ways to stay there till the end,” Manjrekar said.
On January 18, Dhoni played a vintage knock of unbeaten 87 which helped Team India to thrash hosts Australia by seven wickets at the MCG. Thus, it saw visiting team clinching the three-match One-day International series 2-1.
Manjrekar sees Dhoni with a similar approach as of Javed Miandad:
During the Sony Six show, Manjrekar also reminisced how Pakistan veteran Javed Miandad took games closer for his national team. He believes Dhoni’s is banking on a similar approach to get better of the opposition.
“I remember Javed Miandad also had a similar strategy take the match till the end. And [he] feed off the nervous energy of the bowler,” Manjrekar further added.
Manjrekar has himself represented India between 1987 and 1996. He played 74 ODIs and 37 Tests for the national side. The right-handed batsman Manjrekar amassed 2043 runs at an average of 37.14 in the traditional format. He registered 1994 runs at the batting average of 33.23 in 70 ODI innings.
Overall, across formats, Manjrekar recorded five tons and 24 half-centuries to his name.