T20 2018: T20 2018: Why Dhoni's ability to hit makes it tough for opponents

Chennai captain MS Dhoni clubs one to the boundary against Delhi in Pune on Monday. Pic/AFP

It's been an incredible IPL season so far for cricket fans with high-scoring games and tight finishes. It's been even better for die-hard Dhoni fans. For the former India skipper, who has been criticised in the recent past for playing too many dot balls at the start of his innings, it has been an incredible run so far. Not many would have expected Dhoni to be into the Top 5 run getters just a little over half way stage of the tournament. And it's not just the amount of runs, but the way Dhoni has scored them that has come as a pleasant surprise.

The Chennai skipper now has 286 runs to his name from eight games. The 37-year-old is averaging 71.50, and most importantly, is scoring at a strike rate of 169.23. And that's well above his career IPL strike rate of 138. Dhoni is scoring singles with ease early on, and is going for the big shots reasonably early in his innings, something that wasn't part of his white-ball game in the recent past.

Faf du Plessis

On Monday against Delhi, Dhoni came in to bat in the 14th over. And his first big shot, a powerful strike to the long-off stands against Amit Mishra, came off the sixth ball he faced. Dhoni then smashed Trent Boult for two sixes and a four off consecutive deliveries in the next over. "He is in really good form at the moment and it's extremely tough to bowl to him when he is in that kind of form because he has got such a big arch. If you want to bowl wide he can still hit you to the leg side," Dhoni's Chennai teammate Faf du Plessis said after the match on Monday.

Bangalore's Corey Anderson will agree, as he saw his wide full delivery ending up in the long-on stands in Chennai's dramatic successful chase a few days ago, when Dhoni smashed 79 off 44 deliveries. Dhoni raced to his third fifty of the season on Monday, and this one came against a quality bowling attack. From Boult to Liam Plunkett and from Mishra to young talented pacer Avesh Khan, Dhoni mastered everyone.

Dhoni reserved special treatment for Delhi' best bowler Boult, smashing him for three sixes and two fours out of the eight balls he faced from the left-arm pacer. "He has got lot of options so it makes life difficult for bowlers to plan and bowl to him and even a captain where they want to put the field because he can hit any ball to wherever he wants to," Du Plessis said.

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