Match 25, Group 2, WT20, 2016, India vs Bangladesh
The euphoria was palpable at the M Chinnaswamy, not because of the famed noise that this stadium can create, but because of the deafening silence that was pierced by a handful of Bangladeshi spectators painted as tigers.
Mushfiqur Rahim had just hit a boundary off a loose delivery from Hardik Pandya and punched the air right in front of bowler’s face. This was unimaginable.
Bangladesh needed two runs from three balls. A defeat here would mean that India would crash out of the World T20.
Amid this meltdown, MS Dhoni runs up to Pandya and asks him to slow things down. He knew once the last over had begun, India couldn’t be penalised for slow over-rate.
When your team is staring at an embarrassing defeat, how many times out of 10 are you thinking of slowing the game? Dhoni’s answer to this would be 11.
A lot of Dhoni’s triumphs have been anointed as chances. Labelled as a stroke of luck and good fortune.
Misbah-ul-Haq’s scoop, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah’s failed attempts at glory, there was a pattern to these Dhoni heists. But was this really a matter of chance or sheer brilliance of the tactician himself?
This was a boy from a small city in a forgotten state in India. Dhoni grew up fighting against odds, something which reflected in the way he led his sides too.
You'd rarely see Dhoni's picture hugging or carrying the trophy around...allowed others to take centre-stage--a priceless quality.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 5, 2017
He wasn’t the most technically correct captain (just like he isn’t the most technically correct wicketkeeper or batsman), but he had this strange sense of assurance about the way he led his side.
When everything around him was falling dramatically, he stood there unperturbed, like he relished the crisis. For all we knew, he might have had tornadoes ripping him to shreds from within, but not for once did that appear on his face.
But it isn’t just what happens on the field that Dhoni has had an impact on. Slowly, through the years, the 35-year-old has transformed the kind of cricketers India would produce. Indian cricketers are now fitter, faster and more than anything else, believers.
A side that would implode after having reached the most advantageous positions, now believes they can win despite being disadvantaged. Not a lot of captains influence the culture of a team, but Dhoni did.
Another seed that the Jharkhand cricketer had sown pretty early in his captaincy (and one that he has now watered with his decision to step down) was to always plan for the future.
A true leader @msdhoni he influenced so many cricketing careers including mine when he asked me to open in the ICC Champions Trophy
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) January 4, 2017
Quite often in sport – as in life – position and authority give you a sense of invincibility, and when success follow, it also makes way for arrogance. And there is nothing that impedes your long-term vision like arrogance does.
In 2008, Dhoni decided that Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly weren’t fit enough to be part of India’s limited-overs sides. At the time, these were big names who built the foundation of the team, but someone had to renew the foundation.
The genius of Dhoni knew that the limited overs scene will only demand more from cricketers’ bodies and skills. And with age running faster than themselves, the two Indian legends were only getting slower.
Asking them to step down meant that Dhoni wouldn’t be the belligerent hitter that he was, he would need to stabilise the middle order and bat cautiously. And there’s your answer to why doesn’t Dhoni bat like the ‘old Dhoni’.
Dhoni, while culling out the old, was also keeping an eye out for players who would take Indian cricket forward. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja were all groomed by Dhoni, who would go on to become known as someone who didn’t prefer many changes to his playing XI.
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More than anything, though, Dhoni has instilled a belief. A belief in the eyes of young kids from places that aren’t prominent on the map. A belief that where you come from doesn’t matter, your dedication and ability does.
Leading one’s national side is an honour that not a lot of people are destined for, and leading it like Dhoni is only a once-in-a-blue-moon phenomenon.
Third ODI, India vs Australia at the MCG, 2016
Mitchell Marsh turns around and scampers for a second, but doesn’t seem to hurry because Dhoni is standing away from the stumps expecting the throw at the bowler’s end. Only for him to suddenly collect the ball and whip the bails off.
All of us are Mitchell Marsh. Dhoni did something we didn’t expect him to. And while our love for Dhoni, the captain has been run-out abruptly, and we’re walking to the pavilion slowly, there’s admiration in our hearts. We know he is seeing the future.
I hate saying this, but there’s an uncanny calm in reading: MS Dhoni, former India captain.
