World Cup: Dhoni's true legacy is the way India handle pressure

Virat Kohli got bowled round his legs by an off-spinner Sikander Raza. It was a poor ball, wide outside the leg-stump and the right-hander attempted to sweep it. It hit the gloves and unluckily, went back on to the stumps. Chasing 288 to win, India were reduced to 92-4 and Kohli gave us the look of disbelief that we have come to know so well. As the commentators love to say, ‘India were in a spot of bother.’ Only this time, the cliche was a perfect fit for the situation. So how did the fans respond to the pressure – did they go quiet? did they murmur nervously? did they even think of defeat? The answer to all those questions is a simple ’no.’ Instead, one of the fans put up a sign: ‘Keep calm and trust MS Dhoni.’ And rarely, if ever, has the Indian skipper betrayed that trust. He scored 85 (76 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes), shepherded Suresh Raina and India through the tough times to their sixth win on the trot. [caption id=“attachment_2153997” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Dhoni has been brilliant under pressure. AP[/caption] “Not only me and Raina, even when Virat went in to bat, we felt a bit of pressure. Zimbabwe are a good side, but we were expected to win,” said Dhoni after the game. But what did he do with the pressure? He soaked it all up and then despite being in the driver’s seat, Zimbabwe succumbed to the situation. Dhoni had once again outlasted the opponent, he had held his breath longer than the opposition, they had to come up for air – even as India cruised to yet another win. In Dhoni’s words, the pitch was doing a little in the second innings and Zimbabwe’s bowlers exploited the conditions well. But he just didn’t panic. He slowly settled in – 8 off 20 balls, no fours and just singles and a solitary two. He wasn’t in a hurry even though the required run-rate was rising fast. Raina, at the other end, was clearly feeling the pressure. He started trying to use the crease, the angles, play the big shots. Dhoni backed him to do that but had a quiet word with him in the middle. “Play your shots but don’t try to smash every ball,” said Raina after the game. “Dhoni backed my strength and I just looked to play my shots in the right areas.” Rarely does Dhoni go for the blind slog. Instead, some of his best hitting is based on careful calculation taking into account the match situation, the requirements, the ground and even the attack. Even today, a look at the Indian skipper’s wagon wheel reveals his eye for detail. The Eden Park (Auckland) is a strangely shaped ground that is also used for rugby. As a result, the boundaries are a little lop-sided. One of the commentators mentioned (in jest) at the start of the game that Eden Park is the only ground in the world where third man is a catching position. The shortest boundary (around 59m) is just behind square and guess where Dhoni got most of his runs. Of the 85 runs Dhoni scored, 35 came – just behind square. That also included five of his fours and one six. This is the template for intelligent cricket. As is the advice he doled out to Raina in the middle. Together, it is the template of winning cricket. Dhoni’s has been not out 40 times in a chase. Of those 40 times, 38 have resulted in a win (world record), one in a tie (v SL, Adelaide, 2012) one in a loss (v Pak, Kolkata, 2013). It is an eviable record and one that makes us trust him without question. Put South Africa or any other side (with the exception of Australia) and they would have struggled to close out the game in as calm a manner. But India in ICC tournaments have been pretty special. Since 2011, India have won 27 of 31 matches at ICC tournaments (T20 and ODIs combined). It comes down to the impact of pressure and how India have managed to reduce it. Before the World Cup started, former India coach Gary Kirsten had pointed out that this Indian team knows how to win knockout matches. “Everyone seems to write off India but that is a very dangerous thing to do because they know how to play knockout games. They did incredibly well in 2011 and they have a good reference point there,” Kirsten had said. And that reference point really is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He’s been there, he’s done that, he has seen it all and figured his own game out. A great believer in letting the players learn on their own. But this really was a case of players starting to pick up tips from him too. The calm manner in which India handle pressure these days, not get flustered or panic is all down to the skipper himself and that truly is his legacy.