From decisions taken on the field to approaching the challenges he faces off the field, Dhoni has adopted many different methods. Let’s see some of Dhoni’s dramatic decisions in important matches.
An era in the world of cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni has won two World Cups for the Indian team and is the only captain to have won all three ICC trophies. From decisions taken on the field to approaching the challenges he faces off the field, Dhoni has adopted many different methods. He has taken some resourceful and brave decisions at critical times in his career. In this article, we are going to analyze some of the dramatic decisions taken by Dhoni in important matches.
Last over to Joginder Sharma
Can you forget the thrilling match between India and Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup final, that last over, Sreesanth’s catch at the end and Dhoni lifting the trophy? Dhoni invited Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over in the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan. With Pakistan needing 13 runs to win, Dhoni bowled Joginder Sharma when everyone expected the last over to be handed to Harbhajan Singh. Joginder Sharma also bowled the over well and took the wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq to give the Indian team a win. It was Dhoni’s first ever ICC trophy.
Ganguly dismissed Dravid
In 2008, Dhoni dropped veterans Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid from the squad for the tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka. While trying to build the squad for the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni emphasized fielding. He created an environment where good batsmen but good fielders only got a place in the team. He also saw the benefits of that. This is a very tough decision. But Dhoni won the tri-series to justify his decision.
5th wicket
In the final of the 2011 ODI World Cup, when Virat Kohli was out, Dhoni dropped to the fifth row and paired up with Gambhir. Everyone was surprised to see Dhoni drop into the lineup without dropping Yuvraj Singh, who had been in excellent form throughout the World Cup series and helped the Indian team win. But Dhoni vindicated his decision by playing brilliantly to help the team win. It was a historic moment when he ended the World Cup with a six at the end, surpassing Dhoni’s 91 runs.
Used Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir in rotation
In 2012, the CB Series was held in Australia as a trilateral ODI series. Then Dhoni had the problem of how to use Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir. In 2015, Dhoni took a drastic decision to move the team towards the World Cup. Dhoni intended to use all three in rotation in that series. Even though the Indian team did not qualify for the finals of that year’s tournament, Dhoni once again proved that he can take any decision boldly when needed.
Rohit Sharma was fielded as the opener
Despite playing for the Indian team since 2007, Rohit Sharma has not been able to secure a consistent place in the Indian team. In this context, Dhoni fielded Rohit Sharma as the opener in the 2013 Champions Trophy series. Rohit Sharma and Dhawan played brilliantly throughout the match and helped India win the Champions Trophy. It was confirmed that these are the openers that the Indian team was looking for after Sehwag-Gambir and it was this decision by Dhoni that brought the biggest changes to the Indian ODI team. Rohit Sharma has been doing similar feats to Sachin’s debut as an opener. .
Rohit Sharma has been making many achievements by grasping the opportunity he got. He gave the Indian team a strong start in every game and scored a lot of runs. Rohit Sharma is now unbeaten with 3 double centuries in ODIs. All because of that brave decision taken by Dhoni.
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