A Lackadaisical Dhoni & Boundary Bizarreness, Bleed the Blue Brigade!

In the aftermath of Sunday's epic World Cup clash, which left a bitter aftertaste, a speechless ineffability is the apt state of actuality for most ardent fans.

There are no words to describe the deliberate underperformance by old warhorse Mahendra Singh Dhoni, not merely in the game against England, but the last three matches at a stretch. From the encounter against minnows Afghanistan itself, a glaring intent vacuum for putting a semblance of force behind his shots, coupled with sheer insouciance (indifference) towards the significance of the momentous occasion, and complete callousness to the reverence of representing one's country suffice as booting reasons from the playing eleven. 

Subsequent the longer version retirement, Dhoni's cricket schedule is nowadays sparsely intermittent, ensuing into a visibly protruding mid-riff, which isn't quite the physicality of a sportsperson deputing for the billion-strong devout spectators.

Perhaps, the repentance of a tenth-rate showing in test cricket while wielding the willow has somehow, accumulated into hindsight-subconscious-permeating remorse leading to the present sloth-like strike rate. Ergo, in this context, bizarreness is an understatement of enormous proportions. 

Not that he ever emulated verbatim the MCC batsmanship coaching manual in the first instance, however technically too, the fabled lightening fast bat speed is nowhere on the horizon, evidence of reflex sluggishness, caused by ageing translated into a timing void. Lesser we dwell over the footwork, the better. 

Unless he's planning another rerun in 2023! 

And yet, speaking on specifics, a stagnant backfoot that never budged an inch across to the off-stump to be in line with the ball's trajectory, lead to a plethora of repetitively untimed Pulls & Hooks that meandered in a relatively feeble manner towards the deep mid-wicket fence, much to the dismay of an onlooking Ravi Shastri. 

Hopefully, owing to the listlessly languid outings, Dhoni's name won't get etched in the hall-of-fame for posterity, as the sole modern-day Indian Captain from the current generation to kiss the exalted World Cup trophy. 

Saddening to spectate the valiant endeavours of Kohli-Rohit combination, which laid the substratum of a possible red-hot run chase in the penultimate ten overs, fizzle into a yawning spectacle with the disheartened audience voluntarily evicting the Edgbaston stadium at Birmingham, from the 46th over onwards.   

Amid the growing rumination for a replacement, the pint-sized pocket dynamo - Rishabh Pant's plucky knock of 39 in 22 balls in a grave situation is enough fodder to end the team management's wicketkeeper-batsman selection quandary. 

Incidentally, during the post-match presentation interview, Virat Kohli expressed doubts about the ground authority connivance, who conspicuously withdrew one side of the boundary to the harmonise precisely with the ICC Standard Playing Conditions benchmark of a bare minimum 59.45 meters. Doubtlessly, a conspiracy of this magnitude won't get hatched without the home team's complicity or abetment from the English cricket board. 

Resultingly, a belter of a pitch aided by a truncated field enabled the English to thump the Indian bowlers all around the stadium. Sadly, the spinners bore the brunt of the British onslaught.  

Next, India faces its unpredictably mercurial Eastern neighbour, at the same ground on Tuesday, whose notched up three 300+ scores in their earlier encounters, including one against title favourites Australia. Moreover, none could eradicate the painstaking memories of an agonising loss against Bangladesh in 2007, or the solitary defeat versus Australia that knocked us out in 2015. They say, momentum once renounced or squandered, fosters stagnation. 

In life, as in sport, the mindset of a player is critical, often, becoming the hair-edge difference between nudging ahead triumphantly or dawdling behind in desperation.

Indeed, such persistently lackadaisical demeanour from a seasoned cricketer, shan't go unnoticed. After all, beyond the date of expiration is just putrefaction. 

Photo Credits -

https://www.indiatoday.in/
https://www.business-standard.com/
https://www.crictracker.com/
https://cricket.yahoo.net/n