Dhoni set to renew special ties with Visakhapatnam
FOND MEMORIES On cusp of 10,000 ODI runs, Dhoni began his journey at ACAVDCA stadium 12 years ago
VISAKHAPATNAM: ender Sehwag’s 74 off 40 balls was overshadowed.
India won the match by 58 runs but the knock had given Indian cricket a new superstar and Visakhapatnam an innings to remember. Recently in February 2016, Dhoni had tweeted about the city from where his rise to super stardom had begun. “Vizag, one of the cities, that I would love to live in, nice and beautiful landscape with beach and home to my first big innings,” the former skipper had tweeted.
In 2005, Dhoni had come to Visakhapatnam on the back of a poor start to his international career but his knock demonstrated that he belonged in the highest level. With captaincy, he matured and became the finisher who took India over the line in numerous last-over finishes. He also became the only captain to win all three major ICC tournaments.
But this is 2017. Dhoni is no longer captain. There have been question marks on his ability to finish games and launch big hits. However, Dhoni has silenced critics for the time being with a magnificent 65 in Dharamsala on a pitch where the next best score was 19 by Kuldeep Yadav.
Sunday’s ODI gives an opportunity to Dhoni to recreate his magic. Getting to 10,000 runs and helping India to a series win will go a long way in ensuring the detractors are silenced at least until the 2019 World Cup. DNB v Pakistan v Sri Lanka v Australia v West Indies v New Zealand Apr, 2005 Feb, 2007 Oct, 2010 Nov, 2013 Oct, 2016