DIFFERENT FROM GILCHRIST

Conventional thoughts center around strategies and trends, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni backs his instincts to a greater extent in taking decisions. He's been different in that sense, and tempts a comparison as the mirror-image of Australian counterpart Adam Gilchrist.

In vice-captaincy, yes, being the understudy of Anil Kumble teaches you a lot of things, admits Dhoni. In wicket-keeping, yes again, because keeping up to Kumble and Harbhajan is among the toughest tasks in Test cricket. In batting?

Not quite so. Gilchrist is a far better bat, more consistent and competent even in his unorthodox style, and his Test averages tell the remaining story.

But Dhoni is slowly coming to terms with Test cricket, though still fluctuating a bit in his batting. "Unorthodoxy has been my strength, and weakness too. I have been different in this line-up of established people, because I generally go out to bat and try to accelerate the scoring so that the bowlers get ample time to bowl the opposition out. But sometimes when I get out playing some silly shots, people say no he's isn't cut out for Test cricket. So it works both ways actually," he says.

Much like Gilchrist, as he moulded himself, Dhoni hasn't been adamant about going out there and hitting every ball, trying to play his natural game. In Sydney and Perth, Dhoni preferred restraint to aggression, and believes that this tactic has worked wonders for him in recent times.

"Generally, Australian bowlers have tended to bowl quite outside the off stump to me. Only Stuart Clark looks to bowl an off-stump line, otherwise the rest want you to chase the ball, if it's not moving a great deal. When you get in, you don't want to chase the ball outside the off stump. That's what I followed in England in other Tests too," he reveals.

He knows the danger of falling into the expectation trap and says he would concentrate on what his team requires of him rather than meet popular demands on his batting.

"There's always this huge burden of expectation that you carry. At the end of the day you know what responsibilities you have, you know what the conditions are inside to bat. I think it shouldn't be about what people want from you, but about what you realise by yourself."

Tipped as future skipper, Dhoni feels that it's very important to communicate within the team. "What Anil has stressed on is that there should be a lot of communication between us. If somebody hasn't been picked for the side you have to go there and convey it to him. There shouldn't be any gap between the player and the captain. He is very clear on what he is expecting from the players.

"As captain, I believe and go by instinct. It isn't as if I don't plan. I make it very clear to the bowlers because it's ultimately they who would bowl according to the field," he said.

Despite the little rumblings over Sourav Ganguly's omission, the 26-year-old wicketkeeper insists that this team is enjoying their cricket. "You don't own success, your colleagues do too. It's important that you learn to enjoy your game and that brings the best out of you," he says.