Rahul Dravid throws light on MS Dhoni's USP of soaking pressure as a finisher

There is no doubt that MS Dhoni is one of the best finishers in cricket. His records at no. 5 and no. 6 in ODIs are second to none. This is absolutely nothing one can’t expect Dhoni to chase down. He is the ultimate chase master when it comes to limited-overs cricket. Not a lot of people may know this but it was Rahul Dravid, the captain, who first started giving the role of a finisher to the Ranchi player.

Dhoni had started his career on a high. He had scored a brilliant 148 against Pakistan in an ODI batting at no.3. He then went on score another big hundred at that position a few months later. This time he scored 183 against Sri Lanka. Even after playing such decimating knocks at top of the order, Dhoni was shifted to the middle or lower order. He was given the job of a dedicated finisher. Years later, Dravid talked about his decision and also praised the wicketkeeper-batsman.

The consequences of any decision mattered to me: Rahul Dravid

Dravid reflected upon the success of Dhoni in the latter stages of many matches. The former captain said he feels the result doesn’t even matter to Dhoni.

“You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him,” Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

Dravid credited Dhoni for playing in the particular way. He also said that he didn’t have the skills similar to the Jharkhand-born wicketkeeper-batsman. Moreover, the Wall of Indian cricket said that it is something which he would want to know from Dhoni, whether he thinks about the consequences or not.

“I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career,” he added.

In successful run chases, Dhoni has scored 2876 runs at an average of 102.71. Currently, approaching 39, he is at the fag end of his career and reports of his retirement are doing the rounds.