THE STRIKE RATE ISSUE
This has been Dhoni’s Achilles Heel in T20I cricket.
Amongst all batsmen who have batted in at least 20 innings since his debut, Dhoni’s strike rate of 127.09 places him at number 63 (out of 169 such batsmen).
From Number 5 and 6, Dhoni has a career strike rate of 119.29.
The world standard (for batting position 5 and 6) during Dhoni’s career is 119.95.
This means that Dhoni has scored his runs at a rate marginally lower than the world norm during his career.
Overall, Dhoni’s Strike Rate divides his T20I career into two distinct halves.
Dhoni scored 772 runs at an average of 32.16 (Actual Average 19.3) and a strike rate of 114.88 in 40 innings from his debut till the end of 2013. He had no fifties during this period. His boundary/innings ratio was 1.33 and he hit one six every two innings. The world standard of strike rate during this period was 117.27.
This means that Dhoni fell short of the average rate of scoring during the first half of his career.
He had a strike rate of 130.40 in 2007 (7 innings). 2009 was particularly bad when the scoring rate fell to 101.09 in 10 innings. It soared to 149.12 in 2010 but in only 5 innings. It fell to 86.66 (3 innings) in 2011 and was at a modest 125.82 in 2012 (12 innings).
Let us contrast this with post 2014.
Dhoni has scored 715 runs at an average of 44.68 (Actual Average 17.9) and a strike rate of 143.57 in this time-frame. He has two fifties and has scored 1.35 boundaries every innings and hit a six every 1.48 innings – thus we see a clear increase in his rate of hitting sixes post 2014. The world standard of strike rate during this period is 123.70. This means that Dhoni has actually scored 20 runs per hundred balls more than the world standard – that is a phenomenal increase.
If we compare him to other batsmen at Number 5 and 6 we get similar results.
From debut till end of 2013, from Number 5 and 6, Dhoni scored at a strike rate of 109.78 as compared to the world norm of 116.37.
His strike rate has risen to 131.47 and he is scoring 8 runs per hundred balls more than the world standard of 123.50 in this period.
2016 and 2018 have been the best for Dhoni in terms of strike rate – 149.68 and 155.69.
Dhoni’s strike rate of 145.95 places him at number 18 amongst the 78 batsmen who have batted in at least 15 innings since January 2016.
Dhoni’s Dot-Ball percentage also decreased significantly from 34.38% to 27.31% between the two periods.
Though Dhoni has made significant strides in his scoring rate in the last few years, questions still remain on his ability to clear the ropes.
Amongst all batsmen who have a strike rate of 130 and above since 2016 (min. 15 innings), Dhoni is amongst the bottom six in terms of frequency of sixes – a six every 1.5 innings.
His Actual Average of 18.57 also places him amongst the lowest 10.
DHONI THE CHASER
Only Virat Kohli (83.28) averages more than MS Dhoni (50.58) in chases since the latter’s debut.
But here again, the problem has been of strike rate. Dhoni’s strike rate of 129.14 places him at Number 23 amongst the 63 batsmen who have chased in at least 20 innings since his debut.
Dhoni’s low scoring rate while chasing is a combination of two factors – low frequency of sixes and high dot ball percentage.
India have won just 6 matches where Dhoni has scored at least 20 while chasing. The corresponding number for Kohli (19), Rohit (11), Yuvraj and Raina (10).
Dhoni has been involved in 13 chases when India has lost the match. In 10 of these 13 chases, his strike rate has been lower than the collective strike rate of the opposition batsmen.
What Dhoni the chaser achieved in ODI cricket, Dhoni the chaser has not been able to achieve in T20I cricket.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
Dhoni has produced a few cameos in T20I cricket though these have been far and few between.
Vs South Africa in Durban, WT20, 2007: Came out to bat at 61 for 4 and scored 45 in 33 balls. India won by 37 runs
Vs Australia in Durban, WT20, 2007, Semi-Final: 36 in 18 balls helping India to 188 for 5. India won by 15 runs
Vs Pakistan in Ahmedabad, 2012: 33 in 23 balls. India won by 11 runs
Vs South Africa in Colombo, WT20, 2012: 23 in 13 balls. India won by 1 run
Vs Bangladesh in Dhaka, Asia Cup, Final, 2016: 20 in 6 balls. India won by 8 wickets
Dhoni captained India to victory in the inaugural edition of the WT20 in 2007. Under his leadership, India were also runners-up in the 2014 edition in Bangladesh.
Dhoni could not realize his full potential in T20I cricket. He had his moments but he could not match the same consistency and achieve the same success he did for CSK in IPL. One of the major reasons for this could be his batting position in domestic and international T20.
In the IPL he batted the majority at number 4 and 5 and was the most successful from these positions. He got more time to settle in and build an innings and then go helter-skelter at the death. When he did bat lower in the order in the IPL, his strike rate fell to 119.56 and 122.69 from Number 6 and 7.
He did not have this luxury when he played for India where a majority of innings came from 5 and 6. He came out to bat and had to go after the bowling from the start with no time to get his eye in – this was against his natural style of play and temperament. As a result, he was unable to up the ante in T20Is and meet the same success as in the IPL.
With the next World T20 only in 2020 it might well be the end of the road for Dhoni in T20I cricket.
Dhoni the batsman may not have achieved his true potential for India in T20 cricket. But add to that his captaincy, wicket-keeping and the one and only WT20 trophy with India inscribed on it, and Dhoni the player has done his bit for India.