5 trophies India will always thank MS Dhoni for
If there was someone who could beat George RR Martin in unpredictability, it might be our very own ‘Thala’, MS Dhoni. Dhoni did, what Dhoni always does – Keep calm and do what’s best for the country. He could’ve walked out in style from the captaincy many a time in the past. But, what time does he choose – when his successor is ready for the job and the reins could be handed over to him – so that he has enough time to prepare for the Champions Trophy this year and the 50 over World Cup in 2019.
Dhoni has put his career at risk too, making himself available as a pure wicket-keeper batsman. That may raise a dilemma in the selectors’ minds – should they persist with him till 2019 and give him a final hurrah, or if they choose to blood in a young Rishabh Pant, so he could be groomed before 2019. But, that debate is for another day. India may not see a leader like Dhoni again on the field.
Also Read: MS Dhoni as India's limited-overs captain: The Number's game
He won everything there is to be won by a cricket captain – the only captain to have won the ICC Test Mace, the ICC ODI World Cup, the ICC T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. It is hard to imagine any other skipper repeating that incredible feat. It is a testimony of his out-of-the-box thinking, his unusual, almost super-human calmness and above all, the ability to separate sport from emotion and push to the best of your abilities.
We try to relive 5 of MS Dhoni’s biggest trophies in the shorter formats of the game.
#5 2011 ICC ODI World Cup, India
Ian Chappell summed it up beautifully when he called Dhoni one of the finest leaders in cricket over the last 30 years, coaxing the best out of a side which didn’t really have a strong bowling attack – the hallmark of any good ODI side.
Under Dhoni, India became the first team to lift the World Cup in its own country and he did it with a bowling attack that constantly needed chopping and changing (Zaheer was the only constant, Ashwin came in late for Piyush Chawla, Yuvraj became more than a part-timer and Nehra was ruled out of the Final because of injury).
All those challenges put aside, Dhoni along with Gautam Gambhir, conjured a masterclass in high-pressure-chase and his own knock would go down as one of the top 10 ODI innings of all time in terms of significance and importance.
In the league stage, India lost against South Africa and tied with England despite posting massive scores but peaked at the right time, beating Australia, Pakistan and finally, Sri Lanka in three big knock-out matches. And as usual, Dhoni saved his best for the last. Special credit to the way he marshalled his resources on a good batting track in a small ground at Wankhede, where Sri Lanka could have out-batted India but didn’t.
Like a gentleman, he even let Sangakkara walk away with the toss despite losing it the first time in a bizarre fashion. His biggest show of emotion during that entire tournament was him hitting the pads with his bat after running a risky run against Sri Lanka during the chase in the Final. Promoting himself over Yuvraj to face Muralitharan, knowing how everyone would bay for his blood if it backfires – that’s classic Dhoni for you!