Virat Kohli is responsible for MS Dhoni's transformation: Sourav Ganguly

Not many cricket pundits were expecting India to ‘dominate’ the first of five encounters in Chennai after they were rattled by Nathan Coulter-Nile and hosts were reduced to 87/5 in 22 overs. However, former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni had his plans set and was joined with power-hitter Hardik Pandaya to not only rescue Team India but also help them to a rather formidable total.

The duo took their time to settle before shifting gears. The partnership helped India ensure an above-par score of 281 runs. Unfortunately, it was a rain-affected game and Australia were asked to chase 164 runs in 21 overs. In the chase, the ‘mighty’ Australians couldn’t get going, helping India to go one up in five ODIs.

Kohli responsible for Dhoni’s transformation

The win was an incarnation of Dhoni-Pandya special, and for their respective performance on the field, the former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly praised current skipper extensively. He went on saying, that the faith Kohli has shown in Dhoni has transformed 36-years old game.

“When players play for so long, MS has played over 300 ODIs for India, they know how to get runs. More than 9000 runs for Dhoni in one-day cricket and he’ll get a few more by the time he finishes. It’s the captain’s confidence and Virat should get a lot of credit for it because he’s put a lot of faith in Dhoni and that allowed MS to play the way he wanted.

“Players are made and players are broken by the faith you show in them. And I think Virat Kohli is responsible for what we are seeing of MS Dhoni today,” Ganguly told India Today.

Getting better with each passing day

Pandya scored 83 runs off just 66 balls at an astonishing strike-rate of 125.76 which was laced with 10 boundaries. On this, Sourav Ganguly believes that 23-year-old lad is growing as a cricketer and see likes of Jacques Kallis in him.

“He’s (Pandya) getting better and that’s the best part of it. You can see the confidence, because of the performance with the bat, in his bowling. If you do well in one aspect of the game you automatically get better in the other aspect.

“He’s got to think big because the job of an all-rounder is not easy. He’s fit, he works hard and for him, the role model should be Jacques Kallis. I’m not comparing him with the Kallis but he should start looking at putting in performances over a period of 10 years in all formats because he’s got the ability.

“He’s very important to this squad’s progress in the next couple of years provided he keeps his head on his shoulders and keep the confidence going. The next 15 months, when he goes to South Africa, England and Australia, once he goes past that circle he’ll either become a very good player or he’ll probably start fading away,” Ganguly said.