He is one of the greatest finishers of the game. Year in and year out, MS Dhoni has led us to victory in countless chases. It’s always a befitting end – Mahi hitting the winning runs. But he has also proven time and again why he is so respected and adored in the locker room. He may have stepped down as captain but he always feels like the leader of the group. Like Kohli recently said to him – “You will always be our captain.”
One of the most important things Dhoni, the leader, has done over the years is motivate his troops. He knows how important it is to give them confidence and makes sure they know they are rewarded for their efforts.
In the 5th ODI, Kohli had played a match-winning innings with an unbeaten century. We needed 2 more runs to win with MS on strike. He could have cleared the fence like he always does. But he gave the strike to Virat and smiled at him. Virat too smiled back as he understood the gesture.
Next ball, our captain hit the winning runs and the series ended 5-0.
But that wasn’t it.
During the one-off T20 international, Dhoni again found himself on strike with 2 required, while Manish Pandey, who had supported Kohli in getting India to the finish line, was at the non-striker’s end on 47*.
This time too, Dhoni simply guided a full toss away for a single instead of whacking it to the fence. It gave Pandey the strike and the young man hit a boundary to win us the game and complete his fifty.
If that wasn’t enough, MS surprised us all (although I’m not sure if we should be surprised) by another lightening quick stumping. Some would say he rolls back the years. But have those years even gone by yet?
Words in the tweet are perfect – Magical Mahi!