Dhoni’s Gamble

The maestro of cricketing strategies pulled a rabbit out of thin hair in the encounter between India and Pakistan on 24 September 2007. The day he etched his name as a game changer for India. One of the best captains in the history of cricket, this is the story of MS Dhoni’s first of many gambles.

Captain cool celebrates India’s World Cup win

It was a breezy September afternoon in Johannesburg and the stage was set for a scintillating end to the inaugural T20 world cup campaign. The atmosphere was intimidatingly intense and the fans were split evenly for the two fiercest rivals of the game, India and Pakistan.

Ahead of the final, India had beaten Pakistan in a nail biting group stage match and were the favorites to lift the trophy. For Pakistan, their pride was on the line and they needed to beat India to assert dominance over the largest cricketing nation of the world.

Back in 2007, T20 cricket did not enjoy the status it does today. Its viability as an international format hadn’t been proven, and the established stars of the game had opted out of the tournament, sending relatively younger teams to South Africa. It was also the year of the ODI world cup, which meant there were fewer spotlights on T20 cricket.

Before the world cup, India had only played one international T20 match, and the stalwarts preferred the ODI and test formats to the younger, crisper one. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the new Indian captain and he had ambitious responsibilities to shoulder. A natural hard hitter of the ball, he understood the nuances of the format and had well-set plans for the tournament, reaping success throughout against all the major teams.

The toss went India’s way for a fifth consecutive time and they batted first, putting on a total of 157 runs. It wasn’t much, and it seemed that the Indian bowlers would have a tough time defending it. They indeed did, and Pakistan got off to a flying start. But India fought back bravely and the duo kept landing punches at each other. Nearing the end of the game, Pakistan needed 20 runs off the last two overs and Misbah Ul Haq found himself once again at the finisher’s role, having to negotiate the Indian pace attack and carry his team to the trophy. But he wasn’t privy to Dhoni’s plans which were set in place much before the match even started.

Throughout the tournament, the Indian bowling attack had experimented with some variations and had come to trust R.P Singh and Joginder Sharma with the death overs. In the semi final against Australia, the duo had sealed the Aussies fate with their exceptional bowling in the late end of the innings and had paved India’s way to the finals. To Dhoni, the processes were in motion and he did not fear the Pakistani batsmen who were only a few shots away from victory. R.P Singh bowled a tidy 19th over and Pakistan needed 12 runs of the final over to win.

Joginder Sharma, whose international career was at its infancy got picked over the spin maestro Harbhajan Singh to bowl the final over, a decision that kept the entire stadium on its feet. It was a gamble and a huge one, because the stakes were high and there was no backing out. But Dhoni was neither one to take the pressure nor a captain who would let his team perform under pressure. He backed Joginder Sharma and instructed him to focus on his bowling and forget the target. The captain’s words were duly noted and even after Misbah hit him for a six on the second ball, Joginder kept his cool. On the very next ball, Misbah shuffled across the crease to scoop one over the boundary and Joginder had the presence of mind to adjust his delivery. Misbah had already committed to the shot and all he could do was follow through and painfully watch the ball come to rest in the fielder’s hands, accepting defeat.

The crowd erupted and spectacular celebrations followed to mark India’s victory in the inaugural T20 world cup. An underrated team winning an underrated tournament caught global attention and the world received T20 cricket as the exhilarating, fast paced thriller it is today. It also marked a first in Dhoni’s captaincy career, that went on to become the most enigmatic stint of leadership in world cricket, adorned with trophies of all kinds and stories that elucidate the calm destructivism of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Team India lifts the inaugural T20 World Cup