MS Dhoni: 5 finals! 5 masterstrokes! 5 victories! One man!

#2 ICC Champions Trophy 2013- India vs England

Giving the 18th over to a struggling Ishant Sharma

It was the final match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. The home team England were facing the Indian Cricket Team. 6 Hours of rain drained the 50 over contest by shrinking it to a T20 match. But this thrilling encounter made those 6 hours worth it.

India had a slow start and the fast fall of wickets led them to the score of 66 runs for 5 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli took the charge from there and boosted the scoreboard by adding 47 runs. India finished their innings on the score of 129 runs with the loss of 7 wickets. Defending 130 runs in 20 overs was tough but not impossible.

Defending the total, India started it's pursuit to win the trophy in a brilliant way by dismissing England’s top 4 on the score of 46 runs. But Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara had different plans. The duo built a partnership of 64 runs in just 53 balls. Only 28 runs were required of the last 3 overs. This is when the Indian captain MS Dhoni made the biggest gamble of the tournament.

Dhoni gave the ball to a struggling Ishant Sharma. Whilst Bhuvaneswar Kumar had 1 and Umesh Yadav had 2 overs still left in their spell, Dhoni preferred to go with Ishant Sharma who had been smashed around the park by the English Batsman. The decision seemed worse when Ishant was smacked for a six in the second delivery of the over and then bowled two consecutive wides. The cricket lords were going mad on both; the bowler and the captain. But then came the moment.

Ishant took the wicket of Eoin Morgan who was caught at mid-on after nicking a slow ball. Following him to the dugout was Ravi Bopara who smacked a bouncer in square leg fielder’s hand. The worst decision of the tournament now seemed like the best gamble ever. The rest of the work was done by the spinners as 6 runs were required off the last ball. R. Ashwin to Tredwell and you all know what happened next! The dream that lasted for 11 years finally turned into a reality! The trophy that we had to share with Sri Lanka in 2002 finally came back to India.

Dhoni’s gamble was now a masterstroke. The victory was dedicated to the whole team and why not? This inspiring team effort and Dhoni's gamble was one of the biggest reasons behind India winning the trophy!