MS Dhoni took over as India’s T20 captain in September 2007, when the big guns – Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav – decided to skip the inaugural World T20 tournament in South Africa.
After nine long years of leading India to the peak of every format, ‘Captain Cool’ has decided to step down as the skipper of the one-day and T20 side.
Dhoni selflessly batted down the order for most matches and carried out wicket-keeping without missing a beat on the field as captain.
As the Ranchi lad gets ready to join the Indian dressing room as only a player once again, The Quint takes a look at India’s top five matches led by MS Dhoni in ODIs and T20s.
1. 2011 World Cup Final
Team India were eager to clinch the World Cup in 2011, 28 years after their last win in 1983.
While all hopes were pinned on the men in blue winning the finals in Mumbai, things began to look bleak after Sri Lanka posted a decent total of 274/6 in the first innings and had India reeling at 114/3.
However, that is when MS Dhoni decided to lead from the front. The wicket-keeper batsman had a terrible World Cup until he walked out to bat in the final. He promoted himself above the in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh and made his chance count.
Dhoni strung 109 runs with Gautam Gambhir, 54 runs with Yuvraj Singh and finished the match off with a six. Captain Cool remained unbeaten on 91 and led India to a six-wicket victory.
2. 2007 World Twenty20 Final
Pakistan needed just 13 runs off the last over of the 2007 World T20 final with one wicket in hand to win the match.
Misbah-ul-Haq was in the middle with Mohammad Asif. India’s young captain MS Dhoni looked at his options and surprisingly decided to go for Joginder Sharma, even when Harbhajan Singh had an over left in his quota.
Joginder got hit for a six in the second ball of the over, but then in the third ball, Misbah tried to scoop the bowler for a six, and got himself caught by Sreesanth.
And then as they say, the rest is history. India won the match by five runs.
3. 2013 ICC Champions Trophy Final
In the 2013 Champions Trophy final at Birmingham, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara had put England well on course for victory by the 18th over. The match had been reduced to 20 overs due to rain.
Before the 18th over, England needed 28 runs from 18 balls with six wickets in hand.
Again Dhoni took a surprising decision to give the ball to Ishant Sharma, who was already gone for 27 runs in three instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had given 19 runs in three overs.
Morgan smashed Ishant for a six in the second ball of the 18th over and the plan seemed to be going down the drain.
But then, Morgan looped a catch to Ravichandran Ashwin at midwicket in the third ball and got dismissed for 33 runs.
For the next ball, Ashwin was moved to square leg. But Bopara fended off a short ball by Ishant and gave a catch to Ashwin.
Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets in the 19th over and Ashwin wrapped up the match in the last over by defending six runs in the last ball of the match.
4. 2016 World T20, Super 10 Match vs Bangladesh
Even though MS Dhoni has won India several matches with the bat, he has also raised the bar with his impressive glove work.
When Bangladesh needed only 11 runs to win the super 10 match against India in the World T20 in 2016, Hardik Pandya was handed the ball.
Pandya got smashed by Mushfiqur Rahim for two consecutive fours and by the fourth ball, Bangladesh needed only two runs to win.
Then the fast bowler dismissed Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah in the next two balls and made things very interesting.
Before the last ball of the match, Dhoni removed his right glove. Once the batsman on strike Shuvagata Hom missed the ball and it got carried over to Dhoni, the wicket-keeper collected the ball, sprinted and broke the stumps before the non striker (Mustafizur Rahman) could reach the crease.
India won the match by one run.
5. CB Series 2nd Final, 2008
It has always been difficult for India to win in overseas conditions and especially against the mighty Australians in their own backyard.
But a young Indian captain MS Dhoni made his team believe that anything can be possible. The men in blue comprehensively won the first of the three finals against Australia by six wickets and entered the second final brimming with confidence.
Sachin Tendulkar’s 91 helped India post a decent total of 258/9 in the first innings, but it didn’t seem enough.
Dhoni revolved his bowlers brilliantly and by the last over the match was still on. Australia needed 13 runs to win with two wickets in hand.
Irfan Pathan dismissed Nathan Bracken in the second ball and James Hopes in the fourth ball to seal a nine-run victory for India.
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