MS Dhoni’s Epic Masterstrokes- Part II:In part I of this series, we looked at MS Dhoni’s masterstrokes in the shortest format of the game. He was a natural captain when it came to leading white-ball sides. Dhoni has won 5 IPL and 2 CL titles leading CSK. He won the inaugural T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup in 2016. There were many masterstrokes from him that helped the side lift these trophies. His aura of creating defining moments in the game remains unmatched.
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The ODIs were his go-to format:
Dhoni’s best format though remains the ODIs. He had great fun controlling the pace of the game. There have been many numerous instances where Dhoni’s decisions have had an impact. A few of them have gone on to be era-defining too.
We look at a few such epic masterstrokes in part II of this series:
#3 The conviction to drop big names
India had a high-profile Australia tour lined up pretty early in Dhoni’s limited-overs captaincy. The team had never won any series down under across formats. India had lost a home series 4-2 to Australia before the tour. Dhoni was adamant that the ODI team needed fresh legs if they have to stay relevant. He insisted on picking young blood who could cover the large grounds of Australia.
This meant dropping of few big names. Players who had scored 10,000+ runs in ODIs had to be omitted if Dhoni’s wish were to be granted. The Indian board had to surrender and inducted players like Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Gautam Gambhir, and Robin Uthappa. India went on to win a historic ODI tri-series. Dhoni’s faith in youngsters stood vindicated.
#2 The decision to promote Rohit Sharma as an opener
MS Dhoni was one captain who backed Rohit Sharma to the hilt. He went to the extent of dropping one among Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, and Virender Sehwag to accommodate Sharma. But the batter still couldn’t find continued success. In a last throw of the dice, Dhoni asked Rohit Sharma to open in 2013. Contrary to popular opinion that Sharma directly opened in Champions Trophy, Dhoni sent Sharma to open in a bilateral series against England.
Sharma showed some spark opening the batting. He came good in testing English conditions in the 2013 CT. Sharma went on to score an ODI double-hundred in the same year repaying Dhoni’s faith. He is now regarded as one of the best ODI openers of all time. It was Dhoni’s unnerving faith in Sharma that not only helped Rohit’s career but also Indian cricket.
#1 2011 ODI World Cup Final
This move of MS Dhoni has been widely documented. No list of MS Dhoni’s magic is ever complete without the mention of this tactic. There are a few though who are privy to what transpired 4 years ago. India played Sri Lanka in a must-win game in the 2007 ODI World Cup. The side was under immense pressure as the chase got difficult with each passing ball. Dhoni was dismissed for a duck. Muttiah Muralitharan bamboozled Dhoni and trapped him plumb in front. Dhoni’s dismal showing saw fans burn effigies.
He hadn’t forgotten any of this come the 2011 World Cup final. Dhoni and Murali had spent a lot of time at CSK. They were now familiar foes as India and Sri Lanka played a large amount of cricket against each other. It was this context that helped Dhoni make the decision of promoting himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh. The left-hander had a dream World Cup. He was already awarded the MOS even before the start of the final. But Dhoni was not comfortable with two lefties facing Lanka’s twin off-spinners.
He marched in at 114-3 despite having had a very mediocre outing with the bat until then. Dhoni pummelled an unbeaten 91 to help India win the cup after 28 long years. As Ravi Shastri quoted, it was the Indian captain who was magnificent on the night of the finals!
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