As MS Dhoni skipper turns 40, let's look back at how he led India to international glory on not one, not two, but three occasions.
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It can often be hard to come up with new things to say about MS Dhoni. The former India wicketkeeper-batsman has a place in the hearts of all Indian fans thanks to the success he led the national cricket team to. But it is more than just success that saw Dhoni become as popular. The boy from Ranchi made it big because he bucked trends and did things his way. Even if he failed – and yes, there times when he did – he did so on his own terms. That steadfast belief in his own ability earned him a loyal legion of fans. His humble approach to the game as well as his unconventional yet entertaining style of play makes him one of a kind.
Another thing that makes him one of a kind is that he is the only Indian skipper to have won all three major ICC tournaments. Dhoni’s prowess in big games is legendary – but so was his leadership.
As the former India skipper turns 40, let’s look back at how he led India to international glory on not one, not two, but three occasions.
The year 2007 did not get off to a good start for the Indian cricket team. Remember, this is the year the team crashed out of the World Cup in West Indies in the group stages itself.
That disastrous tournament led to the sacking of Greg Chappell as coach. However, it also inadvertantly led to India anointing their future captain.
The inaugural World T20 was to be held later that year in South Africa. Stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made themselves unavailable for the tournament.
Their belief was that T20Is was a game better suited to more aggressive youngsters. The BCCI agreed, sending a team with a younger look. The man to lead the side? MS Dhoni.
His captaincy got off to a poor start, however – his debut match as skipper against Scotland was washed out. However, he fared better in the next match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
India won the match via a bowl-out, with Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik famously claiming afterwards they didn’t know this would be the tie-breaker!
Nevertheless, India were up and running. In the Super 8s they only lost one match – to New Zealand. But the team played fearless cricket and, after beating the mighty Australia in the semis, looked favourites for the trophy.
They did indeed win the whole thing, coming up trumps in a classic final that went down to the final over. The Dhoni era was now underway, confirmed by the fact that he was named ODI skipper in September that year.
India might have won the 2007 World T20, but there remained an itch to be crowned world champions in the ODI format too. The 2011 tournament was co-hosted by India and the final would be held in Mumbai.
The format of the tournament saw the 14 teams divided into two groups of 7 each. The top 4 from each group made it to the quarterfinals.
India finished second in their group behind South Africa, with their solitary loss in the tournament coming against the Proteas. They also played out a rare tie against England.
However, they showed they meant business in the quarterfinals. They knocked out defending champions Australia, meaning the 2011 final would be the first final since 1992 to not have Australia in it.
They also extended their undefeated World Cup streak over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semis. Thus, the final clash between them and Sri Lanka was set up.
Batting first, the Sri Lankans put up a massive total of 274-6. Things started poorly for the Indians, who lost both Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early.
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir steadied the ship but when Kohli departed, India were 114-3. It was still anyone’s game at that point.
Then, in a move that at the time shocked many, out walked Dhoni. The skipper hadn’t been in the best of form through the tournament, yet stepped in ahead of eventual Man of the Series Yuvraj Singh.
It was a move that was vindicated though. Dhoni stitched together a 109-run stand with Gambhir, who missed out on a 100 by 2 runs when he was clean bowled by Thisara Perera.
However, Dhoni and Yuvraj got the remaining runs. Fittingly it was the skipper who finished the match with a big six. India were world champions again.
By 2013, India were established as a threat to any side in white-ball cricket under Dhoni. Thus it should come as little surprise that they won the Champions Trophy too.
India topped their group comfortably, winning all three of their games against South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan. The South Africa triumph came in a high-scoring match that saw both teams score in excess of 300.
They thumped West Indies by 8 wickets before beating Pakistan by the same margin, this time by the Duckworth-Lewis method as rain interfered.
Two more dominant showings followed after that. India beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets again in the semi-final, restricting them to 181-8 then completing the chase in 35 overs.
The final against England was reduced to a 20 overs a side match due to incessant rain. When the match resumed, India managed 129-7 in their 20 overs. However, England managed only 124-8 in response and India were champions.
Thus MS Dhoni, the most unique of India captains, completed the most unique of ICC tournament hat-tricks.
