HAPPY BIRTHDAY MS DHONI: In less than three years of his international debut, MS Dhoni was appointed as the captain of India to lead the side in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. From a flamboyant batter to captain cool, Dhoni smoothly transitioned in the role. In the years to come, he led India to several milestones while surprising opponents and fans with out-of-box ideas on the cricket field.
As he celebrates his 41st birthday today, here are some instances when Dhoni bowled the cricketing world with his ideas
Joginder Sharma bowling
Number one on the list has to be the decision to put the ball in Joginder Sharma’s hands for the last over of the 2007 T20 World Cup. Despite an over of the experienced Harbhajan Singh still left, Dhoni trusted Sharma to defend 12 runs against a well-set Misbah-ul-Haq.
Sharma started off with a wide followed by a dot. The second legal delivery of over was deposited in the stands by Misbah. The match appeared to be slipping away from India but just then, Misbah, in his attempt of a paddle shot, ended up giving a simple catch in the hands of S Sreesanth standing at short fine leg.
Promoting himself in the 2011 World Cup final
After India lost its third wicket at 114 in the final of the 2011 World Cup, it was time for Yuvraj Singh to walk in at number 5. However, with a left-hander, Gautam Gambhir, already on the crease, Dhoni decided to promote himself, a decision that eventually paid off.
Dhoni stitched a match-winning partnership with Gambhir and went on to score an unbeaten 91 to lead India to a World Cup title after 28 long years.
Playing with Rohit Sharma as an opener in ODIs
Rohit Sharma before and after 2013 are completely different players. Though Sharma had been playing international cricket since 2007, his consistency remained a cause of concern till he was promoted as an opener in the 2013 Champions Trophy by MS Dhoni. The opening duo of Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan created a storm in the tournament, and India went on to win the tournament.
Dropping Senior Players in the 2008 Tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka
Despite being a young captain, Dhoni remained unaffected by the shadow of big players on his side. Dhoni had a vision for his team and never shied away from taking bold decisions to implement his scheme of things.
Ahead of the away Tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka in 2008, young Dhoni decided to drop seniors like Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The decision initially raised eyebrows from experts as Ganguly and Dravid were among the top batters in 50-over cricket. Dhoni backed his call and showed result by registering India’s first-ever tri-series in Australia.
Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa in bowl-out against Pakistan
The very first game India played under MS Dhoni’s leadership ended up in a tie. The outcome of the match was to be decided by a bowl out. While Pakistan backed its regular bowlers to take the ball out, MS Dhoni threw up two surprising names – Virender Sehwag and Robin Uthappa – along with Harbhajan Singh. The Pakistan bowlers missed the stumps on all occasions whereas Indian bowlers made three continuous strikes to seal the game.
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