It’s the T20 World Cup final, six balls and Pakistan need 13 runs to win with one wicket remaining. Two choices, either to give the ball to the experienced off-spinner Harbhajan Singh or the inexperienced and ineffective in the game so far Joginder Sharma. One is known by the choices one makes in life and Mahi’s choice of Joginder Sharma gave a billion people back in India reason to smile and celebrate and a priceless moment to cherish forever. That sums up Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s era of captaincy. Nobody could read what is going through his head. In fact, the calmness with which he carried himself on the field never gave other players even a hint of the storm that went through Dhoni’s head.
Mahi has always played cricket on his own terms, personal ambitions and records have never come in the way of team’s interest. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is simple yet his story inspires billions across the globe, no captain in the history of the game has won all ICC Trophies except, Mahi, a small town boy from a very humble middle class background. Mahi’s biggest contribution off the field is that he taught an average Indian to dream and make it big in life and Mahi’s greatest contribution to Indian Cricket is the legacy he is leaving behind as Captain.
Let’s revisit top Indian One Day and T20 moments under MS Dhoni’s leadership:
1. WINNING 2007 WORLD T20 TITLE
This started it all for Captain Cool. Dhoni was made the captain after the then skipper Rahul Dravid and senior batsmen like Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar decided to skip the tournament. Dhoni led the inexperienced Indian side which nobody expected to win to claim the title against all odds, defeating arch rivals Pakistan in a nail-biting final at Johannesburg.
2. WINNING THE 2011 WORLD CUP
Every cricket fan in India can never forget the night of 2nd April 2011 when India played Sri Lanka in the finals of the World Cup at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Needing 275 runs to win India lost openers Sehwag and Tendular early and when the third wicket fell, Dhoni did what he does best, stun the cricketing world with his decision to promote himself up the order ahead of the eventual Man-Of-the-Tournament Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni had a terrible tournament with the bat before the final, but he made the stage his own and the six over long on off Nuwan Kulasakera to finish the game is a sight that none can forget. That one quenched India’s thirst of a World Cup win after 28 years. MS Dhoni finishes off in style still echoes in our ears in the voice of Ravi Shastri.
3. 2013 ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY TRIUMPH
This Indian team was quite a force. India reached the finals still unbeaten at the tournament. India met the hosts England in the final but the match was reduced to a T20 game because of heavy rains.
Batting first India didn’t put up a match winning score of 129/7 but Dhoni with his magnificent captaincy skills turned the match upside down. Some of the bowling changes were extremely hard to believe but luckily all worked in India’s favour as India held its nervesto clinch another exciting 5-run win. Thus, Dhoni became the only Captain to win all three ICC Trophies.
4. COMMONWEALTH BANK SERIES 2007-08
Another feather in Dhoni’s Cap was beating Australia in Australia in the finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series that too in the best of three finals format which meant going past Australia twice in the finals. Sachin Tendulkar was India’s star on both the occasions as he made a century in the first and a 91 in the second final of the series.
5. ASIA CUP TITLES 2010; 2016
India defeated Sri Lanka in the 2010 Asia Cup final quite convincingly by a big margin of 91 runs, India made it to their 2nd Asia Cup title under MS when India defeated Bangladesh team in the final.
MS Dhoni as a skipper only evolved as time progressed. It can never be enough watching him captain a side but as Indian cricket fans we have respected his every decision and so will be the treatment to this decision. MS Dhoni indeed turned out to be one of the greatest leaders in world Cricket. For an entire generation MS Dhoni, the skipper, has remained synonymous to Indian Cricket. We will miss Mahi, the captain cool; but we might get to see Mahi the devastating aggressive batsmen more often.
Thank You MS for the memories and smiles!
