Rise of the Men in Blue - the monk and his few good men!

“God is not coming to save us…If you want to win this trophy we will have to fight it out. We are the number one-ranked side so let us show it that they will have to fight for these 130-odd runs.”

When Team India formed the huddle after the interval, that’s exactly what MS Dhoni said to them before they went out on a chilly and damp evening to defend a paltry 129 against a buoyant English side. What followed was a brave-heart effort mixed with dollops of genius from a team that has looked the hungriest for success throughout the ICC Champions Trophy.

Doesn’t sound like we’re talking about the Indian cricket team, does it?

Great fielding, defending small totals, no rifts in the side, no nasty politics – in fact, throughout the Champions Trophy one has heard nothing but positives about the Men in Blue. Maybe because this final edition of the Champions Trophy wasn’t only about winning. It was about proving a point, setting a few things straight and sending a message to the rest of the cricket world. And India did all that with some style!

India came into this tournament as the numero uno ODI side. After the exposé of the IPL-drama, people mocked at the team, questioned their credentials, faulted the ICC ratings and said – “It’s England, the ball’s going to swing”. The ball didn’t swing much but a few notions did. India got out charging off the blocks and hammered Sri Lanka and Australia in the warm up games.

“Winning is a habit and a good one too…” – MS Dhoni said after the first warm up game. Keeping abreast with their good habit, the Indians won all their group games, comprehensively, and before one could batter their eyelids, they cruised into the finals, crushing their familiar foes in the semis. As the tournament progressed, Dhoni and Co. continued to flex their muscles and the Group B toppers suddenly became a threat that the others were happy to duck.

“India has been the team of the tournament so far. They are a fearless, aggressive bunch and I have not seen that from India before. This team is better than the World Cup-winning side in 2011…” – Michael Vaughan

Vaughan is right. It is a better team. Not in terms of talent, but in intent and execution. The 2011 team had more quality – Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and above all, Sachin Tendulkar. These stars came together, fought hard, camouflaged their weaknesses with the help of home conditions and lifted the much coveted trophy.

After that, the team hit a downward spiral. The World Cup victory was followed by back to back white washes and a humiliating series loss at home. The team was torn apart by the critics and MS Dhoni held on to his captaincy, thanks to a special someone.

Then came Australia and the Indian team suddenly rose from their slumber to inflict a 4-0 score-line on a Clarke-led Australia. But we Indians are a cynical lot. We love to demean our own triumphs by wrapping it in an envelope of sarcasm and being sarcastic about the success of the Indian cricket team has become a much desired pass time.

This attitude of ours was delightfully borne out after the series against the Australians. The media proved how bad the Aussies were while the social networking sites got busy trolling a certain left-arm spinner who left a world class batsman clueless. But it reached its crescendo with the spot-fixing scandal and there was one “logical” explanation behind every cricketing action – “Sab kuch fixed hai!”

However, amidst all these cynicism and negativity, we forgot to notice the paradigm shift that took place in India cricket. MS Dhoni, silently, did a “Sourav Ganguly” and, with the help of the Indian selectors, formed a new Team India.

Ganguly or Dhoni – Who is the better captain? This is an ongoing debate that apparently has no conclusion. While Dada is viewed as the original macho-man of Indian cricket, Dhoni’s success has been largely attributed to “luck”. Though the titles tally tilts the scales towards Dhoni, leadership is a trait that can hardly be quantified with numbers. But if we scrutinize both men, there isn’t much difference in terms of impact.

Those who have followed Indian cricket closely in the last decade, know how Ganguly changed the way cricket was played in India. An enigma during his peak, Ganguly was admired by his team and the fans because of the way he led. He chose his men, instilled steel inside the team and galvanized them into a force. Most importantly, he taught India how to win.

In the year 2000, Sourav Ganguly took charge of an ailing side wounded with accusations of match-fixing. Come 2013, Dhoni finds himself in a similar predicament and now “Captain Cool” has drawn up the same blue-print that Ganguly used 13 years ago.

Ganguly scrapped off the seniors, backed the youngsters, put faith in their abilities and build a nucleus for the future. Dhoni, too, has shown the door to the ones with the inflated egos and has got rid of the liabilities on the field. He has invested in a few good men who might not be ultra-talented but can’t be faulted for effort.

But in the minds of an Indian cricket fan, it’s not the same. Shikhar Dhawan is nowhere close to Virender Sehwag neither Suresh Raina can match up to Yuvraj Singh. Ashwin is far less charismatic than Harbhajan Singh. while Bhuvneshwar Kumar lacks the zing of Zaheer Khan. Rohit Sharma will never be as dependable as Rahul Dravid and most importantly, there is no Sachin Tendulkar anymore. Apart from Virat Kohli, this Indian team lacks glamour and isn’t as elegant and classy as the one most of us grew up admiring.

This Indian team wins sans the showmanship. They keep it real. It lacks the brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar, the technical prowess of Rahul Dravid, the bravado of Sourav Ganguly and the histrionics of Harbhajan Singh. They don’t boast of supremely talented individuals but as a team they attack like ferocious pack of wolves. All of them have their own shortcomings but as an unit they look deadly. Moreover, they seem to enjoy the opportunity of creating a legacy.

Most importantly, Dhoni is making them tick and stick together by churning out performances from the less fancied Jadejas and Sharmas. Love him or hate him, Dhoni has led India in more than 200 matches across all formats and he’s won more than he’s lost. But he doesn’t seem to care because neither success nor defeat affects him. That’s why we despise MS Dhoni.

Indians love Bollywood. We love drama and emotions but the Indian captain denies us from any. His emotions are only reserved for the ads he features in and once he crosses the ropes, he strips them off his face.

Even after this stupendous win, Kohli activated the Gangnam Gayle mode but all Dhoni managed was a wry smile thanking his team. He has now won every tournament that he could have but he doesn’t seem to be bothered. His monk like demeanor can be scary at times but his eyes are on a bigger mission – to build a new side for the future – a team that’s lethal, clinical and never backs down.

He has found a few good men and till now the results are showing…

20-overs World Cup – 2007, Check

No. 1 Test side – 2010, Check

50–overs World Cup – 2011, Check

No. 1 ODI side – 2013, Check

Winning the ICC Champions Trophy unbeaten – 2013, okay, enough said!