The man who made us number one: M.S. Dhoni

The Indian cricket team has seen many a great players. Some were talked about for their sport, some for their temper and aggression and some for the very lack of it. And then, some players caught the eye for being a fashion icon, for looking as good on the field as off it.

But very rarely does it happen that a player is talked about for all of these reasons, for being so multi-faceted that whatever he does is bound to attract eyeballs. One of those players is current Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, fondly called Mahi. This Ranchi boy is as talked about his sport as his hairstyle, as much in discussion about his helicopter shot as his huge collection of cars and bikes.

Easy lies this head, that wears the crown!

Dhoni is not just an ace cricketer, but also a wonderful human being. He has a jovial nature that is oh-so-visible in his wide-toothed smile. A perfect combination of sensitivity, rationality and levelheadedness, Dhoni is a straightforward and upfront person who does not mince his words.

An easy-going person, but not someone who would shy away from taking considerable risks, Dhoni is a go-getter who has won many a significant game for India. This facet came forth in the T20 World Cup 2007-08 final in which Dhoni asked tenderfoot Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over despite the fact that senior player Harbhajan Singh had an over left to be bowled. When Pakistan’s Misbah ul-Haq hit a majestic six on Sharma’s full toss, leaving only 6 runs to be scored off 4 balls, the match seemed to have slipped away from India’s hands. But then, on the very next ball, Misbah was caught out and India became the champions of the very first T20 World Cup.

Despite his very many accomplishments, Dhoni is never arrogant or boastful and sports a humble attitude. His respect for the senior members of the team is unparalleled. An excellent example of this is the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008-09. It was Saurav Ganguly’s last test match and as a mark of reverence, Dhoni let him captain the team after the ninth wicket had fallen. Not only was Ganguly floored, but the entire world sat up and appreciated this act of honour and respect.

Not one to get overwhelmed by success or disappointed by defeat, Dhoni stands firm as a backbone behind his players supporting them through thick and thin. And this is what makes him the tough, versatile man that he is!

Deluxe Drive-Aways

The world knows that the Indian skipper has a thing for cars. His fetish for the mean machines is unique and noteworthy. Mahi owns a varied collection that boasts of biggies like Mitsubishi Pajero, Toyota Corolla, Mahindra Scorpio (open-topped gifted by the Mahindra group) among others. But, the most talked about addition to his fleet is the prestigious H2 2009 Hummer.

Among two-wheeled trail-blazers, Dhoni owns a Harley Davidson, Yamaha 650cc sports bike, Kawasaki Ninja and many others. It is rumoured that he owns 23 bikes that he takes utmost care of.

Popular Hairstyles

Dhoni’s poster boy image often finds its way to fashion magazines and blogs. His hairstyles, in particular, have attracted a lot of attention. Dhoni’s long locks were a favourite with his female fans who drooled over the way his hair bounced as he pranced around the field. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf also commented that long hair suited Dhoni a lot and that he should never change his hairstyle. When Mr. Cool got his hair straightened, the result was a chiseled, more fashionable look that made him look cooler and more stylish.

Around late 2007, Dhoni’a hair set people talking again when he shortened his much-loved long locks to small spikes with a piggy pony tail. He sported the short hair look for a considerable period before going totally bald after India’s magnificent ODI World Cup victory in 2011.

Brand Basket

In this super-competitive Indian market, a brand ambassador’s selection is directly proportional to his success. For a country crazy for Bollywood and cricket, choosing actors and cricketers to endorse brands comes as an obvious choice. So as Dhoni scaled up the success ladder, his kitty of brands also beefed up. In recent years, he has been the face of Aircel, Pepsi, Big Bazaar, Reebok, TVS Motors, Exide, Dainik Bhaskar, NDTV, Siyaram, Dabur Honey, Boost, etc. Ad gurus have remarked that Dhoni appeals not only to the youth, but to target audiences of all age groups. He carries with himself a never-say-die spirit that resonates with one and all. To top it all, he has a top-of-the-mind recall, a win-win for him as well as the brand he endorses.

Helicopter shot

Mahi’s famous hockey-style scoop-shot off a Yorker was ‘branded’ by Pepsi in its ‘Change the Game’ campaign. Though Dhoni had been playing this shot for a long time, it was this ad that gave his signature shot a name. The commercial became immensely popular as his fans immediately recognised the familiar shot, working wonders for both Dhoni and Pepsi.

Memorable innings

148 against Pakistan in 2004: Dhoni was first noticed on the international arena when he hit a smashing 148 off 123 balls against Pakistan. Batting at No. 3, Dhoni’s breath-taking stint allowed India to score a massive 356 in 50 overs.

183 not out against Sri Lanka in 2005: Pursuing a seemingly unreachable target of 299 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur against the Lankans, Dhoni hit 15 boundaries and 10 monstrous sixes to score an unbeatable 183, the highest score made by a wicketkeeper batsman in limited-overs cricket.

139 not out for Asia XI in 2007: Playing for Asia XI, Dhoni thrashed the Africa XI bowlers by hitting shots all around the field. He smashed 15 fours and five mammoth sixes and went on to score a huge 331-run partnership with Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (107). Not only did Asia XI win the match, but Dhoni firmly established his place as one of the best players of our time.

76 not out against England in 2007: Dhoni walked onto the field on the fifth day of the test, when India was three down for 137 runs. Still lagging behind 242 runs behind the set target of 379, Dhoni worked magic by setting up partnerships with lower order batsmen to save the Lord’s test and show the world what he’s made of.

91 not out in the 2011 World Cup final: Captain M.S Dhoni had been having an average tournament in the recent World Cup. India booked a place in the finals but lost two early wickets in the form of Sehwag and Tendulkar with only 31 runs on the board. Faced with a competitive target of 275 runs, Dhoni pushed himself up the batting order and struck important partnerships with Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, leading the team from the front to bring home the priced trophy after 28 years.

Fantastic Five

Almost everyone would concur that Dhoni is an extremely lucky man. But then, fortune favors only the brave. Amidst all the records he has made and all the memorable innings he has played, the following five are his top accomplishments:

T20 World Cup 2007-08: In a heated India-Pakistan match, Dhoni steered his team to a nail-biting victory- thus becoming the first ever T20 champions in cricketing history.

ODI World Cup 2011-12: India beat Sri Lanka by an astounding margin of six wickets, thus becoming only the third country to win the ODI World Cup more than once.

No. 1 ranking in test cricket: Captain Dhoni also anchored the Men in Blue to the number one ranking in Test cricket, a position that had eluded India for a long time.

IPL wins in 2010 and 2011: Chennai Super Kings holds the stupendous record of winning the indian Premier League championship two out of four times, both under Dhoni’s captaincy. CSK also holds the distinction of qualifying for the top four in all the four IPL tournaments held till date.

Champions League 2010: Chennai Super Kings, under the aegis of Dhoni won the Champions League Twenty20 Championship which is the second most elite competition after the World Cup.

Sheer grit and courage allowed Dhoni to accomplish this near-impossible feat, making the media rightly call him ‘the man with the Midas touch. ’Watch him on field to see how he co-ordinates and controls his team without ever seeming to boss around over the players Watch any after-match presentation ceremony and hear him giving due credit to his team mates as well as the opposing side. Watch him off the field for the grounded, calm aura he exudes that is almost captivating. Watch the man who gave India the number one spot in all forms of cricket. Watch out for the man who has nowhere else to go, but up…