Two of the greatest cricketers played pivotal roles during India's maiden ODI series win in Australia.
Virat Kohli, the team's captain, scored a hundred in the second ODI at Adelaide to help India fight back in the three-match series after losing the opener at Sydney. Meanwhile, Kohli's predecessor MS Dhoni scored three successive fifties.
In a World Cup year, their respective forms will be directly linked to India's fortunes. And in the run-up to the quadrennial tournament this summer in England, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has boosted the morale of the Indian camp by hailing Kohli and Dhoni as "Sir Donald Bradman of ODI batsmen" and "best finisher" respectively.
"Nobody has Dhoni's nerve for finishing off victories. Many times I've thought, "He's left it too late this time", only to be amazed as he produced a couple of powerful shots to bring India a nail-biting victory," Chappell wrote in his column in ESPNcricinfo.
Dhoni scored three fifties, including unbeaten 55 and 87 in the last two matches and was honoured with the man of the series award in the ODI series.
"His outward calm is no illusion since his tactical adeptness in these situations is proof his brain continues to work perfectly," Chappell added.
Drawing a comparison with Michael Bevan, who is considered to be one of the greatest finisher of the game, Chappell said Dhoni has surpassed the former Australian number six.
"Where Bevan finished matches with fours, Dhoni does so with sixes. The one area - running between wickets - where you'd expect the fleet-footed Bevan to have an advantage is debatable, because even at age 37, Dhoni is among the quickest in the game," he wrote.
"Even allowing for improved bats and the advantage of playing T20 cricket, statistically Dhoni is superior to Bevan. There can be no argument - Dhoni is the best ODI finisher."
Of late, Dhoni has often been criticised for his slow innings but the former India skipper silenced the doubters when he unleashed a massive six at Adelaide to seal the third ODI and the series 2-1.
"His trademark lofted on-drive comfortably cleared one of the longer Adelaide Oval boundaries to settle the issue in that particular finishing effort," Chappell wrote.
"It was a clear reminder that any thought that his power might be waning was only wishful thinking on the part of opponents. That he achieved the feat in stifling heat only added to the lustre of his performance."
Don Bradman Of ODIs
Regarding the 'best ODI batsman' debate, Chappell feels Virat Kohli will surpass legends like Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers and end his career as the 'Sir Donald Bradman of ODI batsmen'.
"Kohli reminds me of Richards in his approach to ODI batting; he eschews fancy shots and relies on a wide range of traditional strokes ... As the only one of this quartet still playing ODIs, Kohli already heads some important statistical categories," he wrote.
The right-handed batsman from Delhi has so far scored 10,385 runs in 219 ODIs at an average of more than 59 with the help of 39 centuries.
"If he were to continue at his current rate - an unlikely outcome as he ages - he would pass Tendulkar's aggregate with more than one hundred innings to spare and nearly 20 centuries in advance of the Little Master."
Last October, Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 10000 ODI runs, taking just 205 innings. Tendulkar took 259 innings to reach the landmark. He is also the fastest in terms of balls faced to score 10000 ODI runs. He faced 10813 balls to score 10000 ODI runs.
"If he even came close to achieving these amazing feats, there could be no argument: Kohli would be the Sir Donald Bradman of ODI batsmen."
(With PTI inputs)
