IPL History: Five instances when MS Dhoni's captaincy worked wonders for CSK

#4 IPL 2011 - Ashwin halts Gayle Storm

Ashwin got Gayle out for a duck (Image Courtesy: iplt20.com)

Going into the 2011 IPL, Dhoni was at the top of the world as he had led India to a World Cup title after 28 years. As the World Cup had happened in India, the fans have had an overdose of live action. Yet the excitement was palpable because of the introduction of two new teams in Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

Due to fresh auctions, all teams possessed a different look. But what remained the same was the domination of Chennai Super Kings. They played like defending champions as they were unbeaten at their home ground. They looked set for another title and one man who was standing between them and the title was Chris Gayle.

Gayle storm had taken over the season as he was unstoppable. Dhoni strategically gave the new ball to Ravichandran Ashwin and he bowled two off-breaks which set him nicely up for an arm ball to get the outside edge. He was the only threat CSK had in the final and it was Dhoni's masterstroke to bowl Ashwin in the powerplay that neutralized him.