Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Calcutta: Virender Sehwag’s 319 at the Chepauk, last month, made some whisper whether the selectors had been right in removing him as vice-captain after the 2006-07 season ODIs in South Africa.

[Briefly, that job went to V.V.S. Laxman before Sachin Tendulkar became Rahul Dravid’s deputy. Everything changed with Dravid stepping down last September.]

Well, if anything, Team India’s eight-wicket win at the Green Park has firmly settled the line of succession in Test cricket once Anil Kumble decides to quit that form too.

Clearly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (who is in only his fourth season as an India cricketer) couldn’t have hoped for a better debut as Test captain, albeit in a stand-in capacity.

Just as senior pro Sourav Ganguly couldn’t have hoped for a more statement-making finish in his first series-appearance in the India colours after being dropped for the recent ODIs in Australia.

An average of exactly 100.00 in a Test where the visitors managed no more than 121 in their second innings says a lot. No wonder Sourav walked away with another MoM award, his sixth in the sport’s most elite form.

Returning to Dhoni, his captaincy over the three days in the heat and dust of Kanpur caught the eye as much as Sourav’s top quality batting and MoS Harbhajan Singh’s teasing off-spin.

There was a willingness to gamble, which manifested itself through smart bowling changes. Dhoni was also flexible with the batting order (a case in point being Sourav’s promotion in innings No.2) and showed that he was comfortable backing his instincts.

“Dhoni’s a natural leader... There’s nothing cosmetic about him... He was thrust into a tough situation, with India having to win the Test to level the series, and he handled situations very well,” former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja told The Telegraph.