Sourav Ganguly's Masterstroke Of Promoting MS Dhoni At No. 3 That Changed Indian Cricket Forever

Okay! Tell me, what is that first thing that comes to your mind when you hear about the month of April and Indian cricket in the same statement? Is it India’s historic 2011 World Cup when the MS Dhoni-led Men in Blue finally realized the nation’s 28-year-old dream of winning the 50-over World Cup? Of course, who would argue with that! Or is it the glitz and glamour of the Indian Premier League? Surely, no one can argue with that too!

Okay! Let me be specific. 05-April-2005, does this date ring alarm bells in your head? It surely should, as it was on this very day fifteen years ago that the burly frame of Mahendra Singh Dhoni first emerged from the shadows of obscurity to instant stardom. But, how did that really happen?

India vs Pakistan. 2nd ODI of the six-match series. Venue: ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vizag- The arrival of MS Dhoni

The stage was set for the 2nd ODI of the six-match ODI series between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on what was a featherbed of a track in Visakhapatnam. India had taken a 1-0 courtesy an imperious in Kochi and had come into the second fixture, full with confidence.

Captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and had no hesitation in unleashing his power-packed batting line-up-led by the ‘Marauder of Najafgarh’ Virender Sehwag. Sehwag had scored a century in Kochi and was on overdrive from the get-go in Vizag as well.

The Men in Blue suffered an early setback with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar falling in the fourth over with the score reading 26. Everyone had expected captain Sourav Ganguly to join Sehwag in the middle, but what they saw was a burly figure of MS Dhoni emerging from the pavilion. The decision to promote Dhoni came as a surprise to everyone because of two reasons: Firstly, Ganguly’s record at the No.3 slot- the Indian captain had racked up 1356 runs in 30 innings [prior to the Vizag ODI] and secondly, Dhoni’s insipid numbers in his first five ODIs which read: 22 runs in 5 innings at an average of 7.33.

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How to make a player out of MS Dhoni – the prime reason behind Sourav Ganguly’s decision

But, Ganguly had a vision. He had that burning desire in him to help Dhoni realize his true potential. Four years ago he had done the same with Virender Sehwag when, despite the latter inhibitions, he decided to promote him to the top of the order in Test cricket. And, he had realized that the time was prudent to do the same with Dhoni in white-ball cricket.

“When Dhoni came into the side in 2004, he played at No.7 in the first two matches. We went to Vizag (vs Pakistan) I was watching the news and wondering how could make a player out of Dhoni. He had great potential,” Ganguly later revealed to Gaurav Kapoor in Breakfast with Champions.

He added: “The next day in the morning, we did our warm-ups, did the toss, won it and decided to bat. While coming back I decided I will send him up the order. We’ll see what the result is. He was sitting in shorts because he knew he would bat at No.7. I told him to go up at No.3 and he asked ‘what about you?’ I said ‘I will bat at No.4’. And he went and scored 148,”

And, boy, didn’t Mahi repay his captain’s faith or what? The former Indian captain joined Virender Sehwag in the middle and after weathering the initial storm got into his groove, shellacking the Pakistani attack to all corners of Visakhapatnam. Dhoni displayed a full array of strokes during his whirlwind 148 off 123 balls- an innings which included 15 fours and 4 sixes but what stood out amidst all the carnage was his running between the wickets. On a sticky day in Vizag, where everything was coming from the middle of his bat, Dhoni ran like his life depended on it. It would later become his USP.

After the dismissal of Sehwag, Dhoni stitched a 149-run-stand with Rahul Dravid to help India post a commanding and an eventual match-winning total of 356/9. Dhoni would go on to score many more three-figure scores in his decorated International career but, as I write this, my mind can’t stop but wonder, what if Ganguly hadn’t taken that decision of promoting him at the No.3 spot on that April day in 2005? Of-course, Dhoni would still have become a player that he eventually became but didn’t that decision- which we can comfortably call as a masterstroke now- steadfast his arrival in international cricket? Of-course it did!

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