MS DHONI FROM HELICOPTER TO GRACE

Just a heartbeat short. That may well be the only recollection of this trencher of a match for Indian team. A billion dreams had already been put to rest and been reborn, in a twinkle first and then in the ashes, but now it is placed forever in the flames with Martin Guptill having found a single stump from behind square leg to shatter MS Dhoni’s leaping willow by just a few crawls.

Less than mere few inches and India’s World Cup hopes for a third title were now a farther four years away, and for Dhoni – whose eventual six to win the 2011 World Cup final, country’s first in 28 years, is etched on every Indian cricket fan’s mind – it’s probably gone forever and for the good. MSD, the architect of immeasurable Indian dreams, the colossal of a finisher, for whom no chase has even been over until it’s over, but a man now raging against time and weakened physical — and possibly mental strength — now makes his dejected exit from the far end of the cricket pitch with thousands of stopped Indian hearts in the stadium in near hush, head down. Perhaps a bit dawdling than usual, emotional which has not been really seen before on the 22-yards, slight shake of the head, teary eyes, and he walked off, just like that, possibly for the final time in Indian blue.

A moment as heartbreaking as any. The end hadn’t been striking, but it will always be a memory, a painful one, yet significant, because he had carved the innings that had symbolized the closing leg of his career. Fighting, workmanlike, composed, and yet full of dot balls, with a gentle four and a last-gasp six. He had kept team blue alive.

The first semi-final was the worst nightmare for Indian fans – a top-order disaster exposing an untested middle order and Mahi, unable to, or reluctant to, change gears – come to pass at the most ill-timed moment. Dhoni had run out of nurdles. He flashed hard, in vain, rarely, and had only two tracer bullets left. There was no helicopter to glory. No helicopter to safety. No helicopters at all. In actuality, India were well short and New Zealand had the last tough laugh.

Had India regained the Cup, Dhoni would could have retired on a high. But, India failed short, Dhoni can still exit the world stage with the grace befitting a champion cricketer.

No doubt, Dhoni would love to see his last appearance at Ranchi finish on a winning note. On the brighter side, the “finisher” has the satisfaction of playing his last international game, at home, in a city where it all started. It will be tough to find a parallel to this ‘small-town’ boy’s lasting legacy.