Two captains at the beginning of a series. MS Dhoni and Alastair Cook. Both at par. Match 1 keeps them evenly poised, both refusing to let go of being ahead. The result, both of them move on to the next level. Match 2. The Indian captain makes strategical masterpieces and at the end of match no 2, he was already a few paces ahead of his English counterpart. The turning point arrived when Anderson and Jadeja’s tiff got blown out of proportion, eclipsing all the action on the field. From there on, it became a duel of last laughs, of who would get the better of whom, not from a purely cricketing point of view; rather, from a moral victory angle.
While Jadeja did make his point in the second match, quenching an Indian thirst that had been building up for the past two decades, that sense of relief didn’t last long. While the Indian ecstasy was sky high, there was a plot being constructed by the English team.
Cut to the English camp. The first match was a drab affair. Like I said, both the captains on the same level. What was hurting Cook on a personal level was the fact that not just was he failing himself as a cricketer, he was failing his team as a captain. It was a twin-pronged attack that was bruising him badly to the extent of making him wince in pain. The second match just rubbed salt on the gaping injury. The fear of losing Anderson for the rest of the series was nibbling into him as well. Come match 3, Cook scripted a beautiful comeback. It had all the elements — drama, thrill, emotion and a lot of revenge. Anderson clicked. Ballance clicked. Cook clicked. The English boss was now catching up with the distance Dhoni had covered. He was closing in.
Match number 4 made all the difference. The English camp was buoyed by Anderson being let off. The Indian team was sulking, crying foul and asking the ICC for assistance. They didn’t end of story? Not quite. It was the beginning of match number 4 and the Indians got hammered left, right and centre. Indian common sense flew out of the window, imaginative cricket was strangled and poor, pathetic cricketers took over the bodies of our favourite stars. Strategical errors, good ups and absolutely questionable moves defined the Indian show. The English camp on the other took the cake, ate it and wiped the remains on the Indian jerseys.
Cook 2, Dhoni 1. India’s best shot can only help Dhoni leap to an even. An English mediocre, however, can put Cook far, far ahead. It’s perform or be parched for Dhoni. Quite literally. The finishing line is approaching and Cook is ahead. Will Dhoni be able to catch up and breach the line? Good cricket, not time will tell.
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