5 things MS Dhoni loved doing as a captain

The epitome of calm and shrewdness, trailblazer MS Dhoni relinquished his ODI and T20 captaincy in January 2017.

Dhoni conquered several titles - the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy, IPL 2010, 2011 and Champions League 2010, 2014. Dhoni was spot-on with the decisions he made on and off the field. Apart from winning almost everything there was to win in limited overs cricket, he also had the most wins as a Test captain.

A wicket-keeper with lightning fast glove-work, an unorthodox but powerful batsman, MS is more popular for his tactics as a skipper.

Let us have a look at a few decisions Dhoni was drawn towards as a captain.

#1 Having a leg slip

MS Dhoni's trademark practice of having an old-fashioned leg slip gave India many wickets. With Indian pacers straying in line and leaking runs down the fine leg region, Dhoni's motive to have a leg slip was just to prevent the flow of runs.

Gradually it became a wicket-taking option, especially when spinners operated. The leg slip tormented players who have a tendency to shuffle across and work the ball toward the fine leg region.

The Australian skipper Steve Smith was a victim of this strategy. The leg slip restricted his standard movement toward the off stump and whipping the ball towards square leg or fine leg.

#2 Operating with spinners

MS Dhoni loved operating with spinners, especially leg spinners. Irrespective of the format, Dhoni almost always attacked with spinners.

Making Ravindra Jadeja bowl the penultimate over and handing over the ball to Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl the last over of the 2013 Champions Trophy final against England is an example of how much Dhoni trusted his spinners. It also helped him maintain the over rate.

In Test matches under Dhoni's captaincy, the site of the spinners operating with a short leg, a silly point or a short cover, leg slip and first slip, was a very common site. MS Dhoni holds the record for the maximum number of stumpings - 166, in international cricket. The record not only demonstrates his keeping abilities but also proves that he used the spinners extensively to pick up wickets.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha have all sparkled under his leadership.

#3 Changing the batting order

In the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, while chasing, after Virat Kohli got out, the crowd were expecting the in-form Yuvraj Singh to walk out.

But MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order as he did not want Yuvraj to face the champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. He scored a stunning 91* (79 balls) winning the World Cup for India.

This was not the first instance Dhoni rearranged the batting order. He did this very frequently based on the situation. For example, If the top three stayed at the crease till the 35-40 overs mark, he either pushed Suresh Raina or himself up the order, to accelerate at the end.

This method of his bailed India out of many tough situations.

#4 Having an unexpected choice of bowler during crunch situations

Indian fans had the shock of their lives when they saw the ball in Joginder Sharma's hands in 2007 T20 World Cup against Pakistan. With just 13 runs required off 6 balls and Misbah-ul-Haq thrashing the bowlers out of the park, it was indeed a death-or-glory approach by the Indian skipper.

MS Dhoni always surprised the opposition, commentators, experts and the fans with his choice of bowlers during crunch situations.

Another such instance was when he brought back Ishant Sharma to bowl the 18th over (of a 20-over game) after he was hit for 27 runs in his 3 overs. The move turned out to be a remarkable one as Ishant turned the game on his head by picking up Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara in the same over.

Dhoni however suggested that these were not gambles and were well-thought of measures taken by him.

#5 Unusual field placement

Understanding angles well is crucial for any cricketer especially for a captain, as it helps in placing fielders perfectly. MS Dhoni was a genius at it. His field placing was unorthodox but very effective indeed. This precise field placing helped the team pick up wickets and stop runs as well.

In the finals of IPL 2010 against Mumbai Indians, the mighty all-rounder Kieron Pollard was going all guns blazing when Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni came up with a quirky field placement. Knowing that hitting down the wicket is Pollard's strength, he placed a straight mid-off and also a slightly wide long-off.

He then asked Albie Morkel to bowl a full pitched delivery outside off. A result of this was Pollard hitting out straight to Matthew Hayden at mid-off, who caught it easily.