Mahi emerges as the new superhero

Jamshedpur, Apr 12 (UNI) Close on the heels of coach Greg Chappell's praise for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, England's stand-in skipper Andrew Strauss today joined the list of admirers of the dashing Indian wicket-keeper batsman.

Soon after his team's convincing five-wicket victory over India, Strauss said that Dhoni had matured as a cricketer.

''Dhoni has evolved into a versatile player after starting off as a big-hitter. He can now adapt according to the situation like today, when he put his head down when his team needed him to,'' said Strauss.

Dhoni has been fairly consistent this series, scoring 177 runs thus far with an average of just under 60. More importantly, he has been there at the end in two run-chase wins, scored a crucial 38 in the Faridabad win, before his knock of 96 today in front of his home crowd. He was just four runs short of getting the biggest cheer of his career when he lobbed one to square-leg to leave the crowd in stunned silence.

Sent in as opener with Virender Sehwag, Dhoni saw yet another top and middle-order collapse before finding an able ally in the portly Romesh Powar to rescue India from a precarious 79 for five and take them to a respectable 223. The only time before Dhoni played at the Keenan Stadium was last year against Pakistan where he made 28.

Stand-in skipper Sehwag had said yesterday that the wicket-keeper batsman would be promoted and he walked alongside Sehwag to open to a deafening cheer after India won the toss on a sporting wicket.

He began with a bang, hitting three fours off Mathew Hoggard, but had to slow down as wickets tumbled at the other end.

He reached his 50 off 63 balls, sedate by his standards, but fairly brisk under the circumstances. After steadying the ship, the Dhoni-Powar duo opened up with Dhoni hitting three towering sixes to take their stand past 100. His dismissal was soft, but he had again vindicated coach Greg Chappell's faith in his abilities.

He may not be the most attractive batsman to watch by way of elegance, but he definitely is highly effective and, more importantly, delivering consistently at crucial junctures.

The fans here are mad about Dhoni and they would sissor their locks like him. And they had their eyes' feast when local lad played his heart out. Every ball he played was responded with a clattering unheard before. Every shot he produced brought the crowd to their feet as the sound of 'Dhoni-dhoni' rented the air. Posters, placards and festoons with Dhoni's image on it filled the stadium.

And he didn't disappoint them, though a century would have been more satisfying.

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