.: Good captains sense strategically important moments in the game and they act accordingly. On the second day Mahendra Singh Dhoni's timing was absolutely perfect; not just with the bat but also his tactics.

Australia had embarked on a ploy to unsettle the Indian batsmen with short-pitched bowling and this brought about the dismissal of Ishant Sharma.

Dhoni strode to the crease with a; "we'll soon put an end to this nonsense" approach and immediately despatched some glorious hook and pull shots to and over the boundary. Not only did his brilliant counter-attack bring quick runs and thwart the Australian plan, it also boosted the nerve of Sourav Ganguly.

Exemplary

Ganguly had been struggling with the short-pitched delivery having taken one on the body. However, Dhoni's example led Ganguly to a more aggressive approach in playing the short ball and this sparked a productive liaison that led to a formidable Indian total.

With plenty of runs on the board the Indian bowlers then operated with confidence and Dhoni backed them with thoughtful field placings. Zaheer Khan is now inside Matthew Hayden's head and for the third time in this series he dismissed him cheaply. That was a big wicket for India but it got even better when Ishant Sharma continued his mastery over Ricky Ponting, trapping him lbw. If the two Australians can't reverse this trend it leaves India with a huge advantage.

Opportunist

Like a shark smelling blood, Dhoni took the opportunity to introduce debutant leg-spinner Amit Mishra with Australia's two most aggressive batsmen back in the pavilion.

This move paid immediate dividends as the leg-spinner claimed Simon Katich as his first victim in Test cricket.
There was a vibrancy about India's play that included a much-improved fielding display and more aggressive field placings.

Natural leader

Dhoni is a natural leader and this showed when he spoke to Harbhajan Singh after his opening over. Dhoni indicated to the off-spinner that the ball was curving in the air and to not only boost his confidence but also indicate he was bowling at the ideal pace.

Dhoni had one last trick up his sleeve. In the last over he suggested Mishra go round the wicket to Michael Clarke and the batsman thinking the delivery would be pitched in the rough was late getting his bat forward to a well-pitched wrong'un. India had ambushed their fourth victim on a day where Dhoni's timing had been perfect from start to finish.