Time and again, the maverick 31 year old has come to the rescue of his team and today was no exception.
India were staggering at 120/4 when Dhoni walked out to the centre. The situation was asking for the man to play the sort of innings he loves to play, an innings that asks for mixing caution with aggression. As is his style, Dhoni started off in a slow note, he was perhaps lucky to get away with a caught behind decision on 6. There was a sound as the ball went past the bat but numerous replays seemed to be inconclusive.
Dhoni scored his first boundary during the powerplay, a trademark bludgeon to the long on fence but it was not until the 43rd over that he started to flex his muscles. Beginning with a massive six over mid-wicket, Dhoni launched into the English bowling line up with a series of helicopter shots, the big swings back over the bowler's head the bowler's head. Finn, arguably the best amongst the English bowler's on the day was dismissed with contempt while Woakes and Dernbach got the full treatment at the hands of the Indian skipper.
Dhoni led the Indian charge in the death overs scoring 47 from just 25 balls and in the process lifting India to a commanding 285 on the board. With runs on the board, Dhoni, the captain came into full flow as clever use of his bowling resources aided with the conditions resulted in a handsome Indian victory.
Top Performer of the day: MS Dhoni
That's all we have for you today. It was an engrossing game and we hope you enjoyed it too. The next match of the series is on Saturday at Ranchi. With the series level now, that match gains greater context. Do join us for the same. Cheers and goodbye for now.
Jadeja: 'I enjoyed my batting. The ball was coming on nicely. I played many games in the IPL for Kochi. I knew the wicket was slow but once you are in, you could score runs. Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) was telling me not to throw away my wicket. The wicket was turning and I expected to pick wickets on this surface.'
Ravindra Jadeja is the Man of the Match for his all-round efforts.
MS Dhoni: 'I think everyone performed really well. It was difficult for the openers as it was seaming. Yuvraj and Raina batted well to give us the platform. I think it was a fantastic effort from Jadeja. We had to bat first. The responsibility was on the batsmen. Yuvraj and Virat gave us that platform initially. We were looking for 240-250, when me and Raina were batting. We got 15 runs more than what we expected. The crowd here was really brilliant. I'm waiting to play in my home city. Right from the very start, the crowd supported us. They never left despite the heat. The pitch was a perfect Test wicket. One that we wanted.'
Alastair Cook: 'We gave away 100 runs in the last 10 overs and that cost us. I think 240-250 was gettable. We got out-skilled and outplayed today. It's 1-1 now and all to play for. I thought Steven Finn bowled really well today. Credit to India. They put pressure on us.'
Ravindra Jadeja had a day to remember. He contributed with bat, ball and on the field to help India to a big win. The England chase never really got going. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was the star early on. His 10 over spell right at the top ensured that England were always on the backfoot. On a track that was aiding the spinners, his spell of 3/30 was worth its weight in gold. Kevin Pietersen was the only batsman who looked in any sort of comfort but after his dismissal the Indian spinners got stuck in and never let the pressure off.
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