Five remarkable decisions MS Dhoni took during his captaincy; check out

By
Sneha Roy
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New Delhi: Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped curtains on his notable international career on Saturday (August 15). Dhoni has extended India into unprecedented heights in all three formats. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup, the 2010 and 2016 Asia Cups, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

 
 
 
 
 
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He is also one of the highest run-scorers in ODIs with more than 10,000 runs scored and was considered an effective ‘finisher’ in limited-overs formats. He also led India at the top of ICC Test rankings in 2009 for the first time. Known as unpredictable as a captain, Dhoni has always surprised everyone with his on-field decisions. Let’s take a look at five of them.   

1. 2007 T20 World Cup final over to Joginder Sharma
During the T20 World Cup final, MS Dhoni handed the ball to Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over against Pakistan with just 13 runs to defend. Both Harbhajan Singh and Joginder had one over left in their spells and everyone thought Bhajji would bowl the final over considering his experiences at big matches instead Dhoni surprised everyone. After conceding seven runs in the first two balls Joginder had Misbah-ul-Haq caught by Sreesanth at short fine-leg to give India the title in Johannesburg.

“Most people remember that I bowled the final of the title clash in 2007, but many don’t remember that I had also bowled the final over in the semifinal against Australia. They needed 22 runs but could score only six and I got two wickets — Brett Lee and Michael Hussey. RP Singh had bowled the second last over in the semifinal and he bowled the second-last over in the final against Pakistan too. It was always following the plan that gave the results for Dhoni,” Sharma told The Hindustan Times recalling the game. 

2. Handing over the captaincy to Sourav Ganguly in his final Test in 2008

In Sourav Ganguly’s final Test match at Nagpur in 2008, MS Dhoni won everyone’s hearts when he handed over the captaincy to the man under whom he made his debut. It was a noble gesture that touched everyone. India beat Australia in that match by 172 runs.

“That (handing over captaincy) was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t expect it. But MS Dhoni being MS Dhoni, he is full of surprises like his captaincy. We were winning the Test match and my mind was on retirement. I don’t know what I did for those 3, 4 overs,” the current BCCI president Ganguly said.  

3. Promoting himself to no.5 in 2011 World Cup final 

Considered as one of the biggest gambles in the Indian cricket history, MS Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Chasing 275, India got off to the worst start, losing Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early to Lasith Malinga. However, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, who walked in at No.4, steadied the ship and added 83 crucial runs.

After Kohli’s dismissal, thanks to a stunning catch from part-timer Tilakaratne Dilshan, surprisingly Dhoni walked in instead of an in-form Yuvraj and Suresh Raina at No. 5. The two left-handers had a productive campaign and Dhoni was not in the best of his forms, having scored just 150 runs in the lead up to the final. Dhoni struck a majestic 91 and India became world champions for the second time in history finishing off with a six.

4. Promoting Rohit Sharma as an opener in 2013

Having made his international debut in 2007, Rohit Sharma struggled to get going in his initial years. But it was MS Dhoni’s one decision that changed his career. Dhoni tried him at the top of the order promoting Rohit as an opener during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. The move worked wonders as Rohit became the first batsman to hit three double-hundreds in ODIs. His 264 not out against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens is the highest ever by a batsman to date. 

“We have to see what others are not seeing. Rohit Sharma is one of the best examples. He accepted that challenge of becoming an opener. In limited-overs, he is one of the best openers who is playing right now. You have to at times think out of the box. We were like the amount of talent this guy has, I have to make him play. For that, if I have to make him an opener, I will do it,” Dhoni said in an interview.

“Champions Trophy is such a big tournament and suddenly MS (Dhoni) told me to open the innings in the first match. I was like ok, let’s see. He had eventually said it, and even I gave him a thumbs up, but later after getting back to my room, I was contemplating as to’ what did I do just now’, and whether it’s right or wrong for me,” Rohit said on ‘Breakfast with Champions’.

5. Opened his gloves in 2016 T20 WC match against Bangladesh

Needing just two runs of the final ball, Dhoni removed his right-hand glove also stood few yards close to the stumps than the original position. He even brought the fielders at third man and point cover inside the circle. Hardik Pandya bowled wide on the off-side for Shuvagata Hom to miss. Dhoni collected the ball and ran himself towards the stumps to run out Mustafizur Rahman, which was one of the most unforgettable moments from this tournament.

Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin asked about why Dhoni chose not to wear the right glove was quoted saying, “It made sense to run to the stumps. It could have ricocheted off had he thrown with gloves on.”

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