MS Dhoni led India to a World Cup triumph after a gap of 27 years, making him only the second captain after Kapil Dev to do so. Dhoni was the mastermind behind India’s 2011 World Cup triumph and not only that he helped India seal the big prize in an emphatic manner against Sri Lanka.
Needing four runs to win, Dhoni decided to hit a six off Nuwan Kulasekara as he connected like a dream to send the ball into the stands. It become a moment to savour for plenty of Indian cricket fans across the globe as even Ravi Shastri bursted loud from the commentary box.
Former India captain and member of 1983 World Cup squad Sunil Gavaskar also has the moment etched in his mind. Gavaskar met Dhoni after a few days during the IPL and also told him that, he will be watching the 2011 World Cup winning six, before saying goodbye to the world.
“A few days later, the IPL started. CSK were playing their first game. I was at the ground and I met MSD and I remember saying to him that look ‘if I know that in this world, I have got a few couple of minutes left, then I would ask somebody to put that shot on, then I would love to see that shot and then say goodbye to this world. I would go with a smile on my face.’
“That’s exactly what I said to MSD and MSD of course was very modest about. He just smiled and didn’t say anything. That’s what I genuinely feel,” Gavaskar told India Today.
Dhoni made a big name for himself by making the country proud with his achievements after coming from the cricketing backwaters of Ranchi. He has achieved immense success as a player and also grew up to be one of the most successful captains and achieved almost everything the ICC tournaments had to offer.
All the success had made him one of the most influential person on the cricketing circuit but he was not the same when he was first introduced to the national team. Besides that, MS Dhoni has also been the go-to man for his teammates whenever he was on the field.
Dhoni understood the game well. He knew the strength of the side and backs his players accordingly. He did not takes any kind of frivolous decisions and likes to maintain his calm. It is due to these qualities Dhoni came up as one of the most calm and composed character on the cricket field.