Dhoni readies for Buttler battle
MANCHESTER: Warm-up part of the tour finished without breaking much sweat against Ireland, India kicked off their preparation for a tough England series with a high-intensity training session at the Old Trafford ground on Sunday.
Making the most of the sunny weather, Virat Kohli led his team to practice early and flex muscles in preparation for the opening Twenty20 International on Tuesday. Hitting the nets first, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Kohli all looked in fine rhythm with their timing and quality of strokeplay.
After the top-order, MS Dhoni took guard in the spinners’ net. His control and body position while playing forward defence to the first few balls showed Dhoni’s Indian Premier League touch was very much intact.
There was no exaggerated backlift or heavy heaves. He was getting into the position early, looking to maintain shape and bringing into play his powerful wrists. Against Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, Dhoni gave an exhibition in the art of batting, moving about in the crease like a boxer, dancing in the ring and toying with the opponent. Chahal had him edging once when an intended drive didn’t come off a flighted delivery but that remained the only false shot of the day. One of the face-offs everyone is eagerly waiting for in this limited overs series is Dhoni versus Jos Buttler.
With superlative displays against Australia this summer, the England wicketkeeper-batsman has set up the battle against Dhoni to crown the best in the business. Sunday’s nets indicated that Buttler will have to come up with something really special to outshine Dhoni. With one year left for the next World Cup, this series will set the tone for that final battle.