Rising Pune Supergiant coach, Stephen Fleming paid tribute to M.S. Dhoni who hit a match-winning 61 not out off 34 balls on Saturday in a home match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“It was vintage, wasn’t it? It was a performance that was befitting of a man who has the reputation of being a great finisher,” said Fleming on Sunday. “He proved again that when he is in the mood and has got the sight or the feel for the bowling he is still the most destructive closer because of his composure and hitting skills.”
Fleming, who has observed all of Dhoni’s IPL career from up close — at Chennai Super Kings as teammate and coach, and now at RPS — said: “We’d got a bit blasé [about Dhoni’s skill as a finisher] because it was happening so often.
“We benefited from it at Chennai a lot, and people were yearning for a performance like that. And, like all great players do, he delivered.”
On whether Dhoni himself had been getting anxious about his abilities, Fleming said: “He was determined. He has been training a lot. He has certainly hit a lot of balls, and it was all building up to an innings of substance.
“He desperately wants us to do well this year. After last year, we all felt that we needed more contributions from everybody. He, in particular, was the one to put his hand up.”
Unaffected by talk
Fleming went on to say that Dhoni remained unaffected by the off-field speculation about his skills being on the wane. “In some ways he isolates himself away from that, which is a good thing especially in India,” said Fleming.
“But still, the calmness he shows in such situations is one of his greatest assets. And yesterday, it was to the fore.”
“We thought that it was probably late and we had not got [enough] to leave us with a good chase in the end, but he proved that with the hitting and batting skills and the power that players have these days, no score is impossible.
“And that puts so much pressure on the bowlers. And good bowlers too, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been bowling very well. It was a good match, and a good result for us.”
On the result itself, and RPS stringing together two wins, Fleming said: “We went from last to fourth. If you shut the tournament now, we’d be very happy. It’s a good jump to have.”
However, he was dismissive of talk about momentum. “I’m not a fan of the word momentum. That can stop with a quick over of poor cricket,” he said.
“Confidence is the key. The more you can get players experiencing those wins and good performances the more they back themselves in pressure situations. Confidence is thus the key word for me.
“We’ve got a boost, but we can do with some more.”
