Indian cricket and the Dhoni effect

To borrow from Walt Whitman:

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting

Calm, ice-cool, composed. Planning meticulously, plotting insidiously and stalking the opposition like a hungry predator. Resembling an ocean of equanimity amidst raging storms, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has altered many a script, leading Indian cricket to the peak of glory. On a wet Sunday night at Edgbaston, Captain Cool, as he is fondly called, ‘weather’d every rack’ to accomplish the ultimate feat that no international captain had even dreamed of.

Following India’s fairy-tale Champions Trophy title triumph, Dhoni became the first captain to have won all ICC trophies. Add the Champions League and IPL trophies to the mantelpiece too. For a man who started out as a ticket-collector at Kharagpur railway station, Captain MS Dhoni is now a trophy collector, a world-beater. As noted cricket analyst Simon Hughes wrote in his column, Dhoni may just be an early candidate for the sportsman of the 21st century.

Rocked by the IPL spot-fixing scandals, Indian cricket appeared perilously close to the tipping point. And Dhoni, being the captain of the tainted Chennai Super Kings, was painted in dubious colors. Gurunath Meiyappan, a senior CSK official, was arrested for his shady links with bookmakers. A barrage of barbs was directed at Dhoni and Indian cricket. His part-ownership of Rhiti sports management was also examined under malicious microscopes.

This hardly perturbed Dhoni as he united a bunch of inexperienced, yet talented, youngsters to clinch the elusive Champions Trophy and restore the faith in Indian cricket by driving away fear. As always, fear is no factor for Mahi. Perfect India, exceeding all expectations, won all their seven games, including the warm-up fixtures, with clinical efficiency.

Dhoni’s strategies, more often than not, turn into masterstrokes. His strategies, marked by an equal measure of instinct and tactical nous, were no different in the Champions Trophy. Promoting Rohit Sharma to the top of the order to partner the dashing Dhawan has solved India’s opening conundrum. Borrowing Dhoni steel, the supremely talented Rohit has matured into a steady batsman – a far cry from his prolonged failures last year.

Ravindra Jadeja, who was cricket’s favorite punching bag during the 2010 T20 World Championship in England, has risen from the ashes to become a cult hero. With stellar all-round displays, akin to Mohinder Amarnath’s achievements in the 1983 World Cup, Jadeja too has repaid Dhoni’s unwavering trust.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, another product of of Dhoni’s leadership, bowled with exemplary control to guarantee early inroads every time he stepped out to bowl. Kumar boasted of the lowest economy rate among pace bowlers to have bowled at least 20 overs.

The single biggest factor in India’s remarkable success, though, has been their athletic like fielding. The seamless transition vividly indicates that Dhoni has built the future of Indian cricket, taking every game at a time.

Dhoni may not have scored a run in the rain-marred Champions Trophy final, but his inspiring captaincy and masterful use of the gloves willed India to a victory in a cliffhanger. The two stumpings he effected in the final were far from straightforward. The delivery that dismissed Jonathan Trott was taken down the leg side from a wide ball from Ravi Ashwin. It turned a long way, and Dhoni had some traveling to do. The second stumping the accounted for Ian Bell’s wicket was even better. Jadeja’s quicker one squeezed between Ian Bell’s body and his leg stump. Dhoni whipped off the bails in a flash to derail the chase, which was going comfortably till this point.

Then, Dhoni unearthed a Joginder Sharma in Ishant Sharma. The lanky pacer’s innocuous 18th over produced an unexpected double strike. Dhoni wore an ultimate expression of self-confidence.

Many berated Dhoni for holding his spin twins back for the death overs, but this was the decisive move that eventually sealed the deal.

Our antipodean friends keep reminding us how difficult transition could be. Australia, having lost the services of the galacticos- Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, find themselves at a crossroads. New Zealand haven’t dug out an escape route either.

Meanwhile it is fair to say that India are enjoying the ‘Dhoni effect’.