Page 134 - IPL1

But the pulverising innings were punctuated by moments
when his aggressive instincts got the better of him. England
supporters will never forget Dhoni skying a catch to Monty
Panesar at long-off in the Third Test in Mumbai in 2006 – a game
India were trying to save. Panesar did not even lay a finger on
the chance but, guess what, Dhoni immediately repeated the
shot and this time Panesar clung on. It is difficult to imagine
Dhoni making such a rash mistake these days. Indeed, on the
slow and often tricky pitches during the Commonwealth Bank
Series campaign, Dhoni batted as watchfully as anybody.

Dhoni was appointed India’s one-day vice-captain in 2007 and,
when Rahul Dravid stood down, he became captain of the team.

His team responded immediately to his leadership. He showed
adventurous tactics and extracted stellar performances from a
number of untried players. He gained further respect in his own
dressing-room by standing up for his team when relations with
the Australians became fractious, as they often did.

So it was no surprise when he was chosen to captain one of
the franchises, and his leadership of Chennai proved what we
already knew: here is a man capable of inspiring those around
him and leading by example. Some captains would have been
thrown off course by the departure after four matches of the
Australian duo of Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey, but
Dhoni responded by taking on the responsibility of contributing
to almost every innings he played. His consistency was amazing:
in 10 of his 14 knocks he passed 20, and on four occasions he was
still there at the end of an innings. His 65 off 30 balls against
Bangalore was a reminder of the ferocious hitting of which he is
capable, while his unbeaten 60 off 43 deliveries, including four
sixes, proved the difference between victory and defeat against
close rivals Kings XI Punjab on May 10.

In all, Dhoni scored 414 runs at an average of 41.40 and a strike-
rate of 133. And, while others may have struggled to cope with
the burden of being the tournament’s most expensive player,
Dhoni always exuded tranquillity and humour when addressing
the media. His team could hardly have hoped for a more
textbook leader.

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