World T20 preview: Finals, Sri Lanka hold no fears for Dhoni

You may like Mahendra Singh Dhoni for what he does on the field or you may hate him for what he does off it but come the big moment, here is a man who is always primed to give his absolute best. But if you look at him, sitting there in the press conference – you wouldn’t say that this is a man who has the chance to capture another world crown. Virat Kohli would have been animated, as would have every other skipper in the world. The Aussies in their prime would be almost arrogant but Dhoni is simply nonchalant. He wants to win but he doesn’t let it get to him – that is his method. He almost doesn’t seem to care that this is another final – a match that will allow India to hold all the limited overs world titles at the same time. He keeps telling himself that it’s just another game and over the years, it has started coming naturally to him. [caption id=“attachment_1467495” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] Between the controversy surrounding his statement to the Mudgal Commission, filing an Rs 100 crore law suit against a television news channel and avoiding the media, Dhoni has somehow managed to retain his focus. His captaincy has been rock solid and the team has responded in kind. His cool as ice demeanour has rubbed off on the team as well and that is clear from the way they approach pressure situations. The more the pressure the more India seems to focus. In the semi-final as Virat Kohli was engineering another superb victory – in the dug-out, Mohit Sharma was blowing air into a balloon. Shikhar Dhawan was joking around with Rohit Sharma. Dhoni was wielding a bat – trying to ensure that his muscles were warmed up well. Pressure? What’s that? One can’t help but admire Dhoni’s ability to compartmentalize work, play and life. We have all read stories about how Sunil Gavaskar battled not just the West Indian pacers but also tooth ache in his debut series in 1971. He refused painkillers because he thought they might make him drowsy. His scores in the Test were 124 and 220 and that helped India save the match. Kapil Dev with a torn hamstring still managed to bowl out Australia for 83, successfully helping India defend a total of 142. He ended the match with a tally of 5-28. We have seen numerous such instances in sport but one thing that comes between them all is the ability to simply shut things out – that is the difference between being good and being great. Dhoni has this ability and it allows him to give 100 percent every time he steps on to the field of play regardless of what is happening off the field. “Over the years that I have been the captain I have seen almost everything," Dhoni said. “There is nothing really that I have not seen in cricket. We have had Indian cricket perform at their best and at the same time we had to go through a lean patch where we had really tough times. Controversies are a big part of Indian cricket and I have been through all it. There’s hardly any good or bad in Indian cricket that happens without my name. We have to go through everything but the good thing is we have to concentrate on the process more. “I know there are certain things that are in my control. I look to move in that direction rather than thinking or living a thought that’s beyond my control and that has really helped me. It’s been an interesting time, ups and downs. That’s all it’s all about - in international sport it doesn’t matter which game you are playing. It has taught me a lot and it’s still a learning curve for me and hopefully it will teach me many more in coming life after cricket.” India have won three major finals under Dhoni – the 2007 World T20, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. In 12 finals since the World Twenty20 in 2007 - all played with Dhoni as skipper - India have a win-loss record of 8-4. Three out of these four defeats have come against Sri Lanka but the last of them came way back in 2010 and a lot has changed since then. When asked on the eve of the match about how he has changed as a leader, Dhoni said: “That’s not really for me to decide because from outside, you can judge it better than me. Of course, I take it as a job and responsibility, I have been given the responsibility and I try to fulfil it to the best potential that I have got. “At the same time, as an individual, you will make mistakes and as a captain. I feel it is very important that if you commit a mistake, you go out there and admit it because it won’t always go your way because the captain, almost 98 percent of the time, decides on something but it is somebody else who has to fulfil the job. Ultimately, it depends on the person and how he responds to the situation. You try to be honest to yourself, you read the game and decide something. If it doesn’t work, you stand up and take the responsibility because that’s what your job needs you to do.” India became world champions in 2011 beating Sri Lanka easily in the final and then beat England in the 2013 Champions Trophy final. Sri Lanka holds no fear for Dhoni and his boys. The first title took everyone by surprise but since then Dhoni’s evolution in the limited overs format has been stunning. He has a game plan and he sticks to it. The plan itself is pretty simple – restrict the opposition to as few runs as possible. With Dhoni the focus in limited overs internationals has never been wickets, rather it is about getting a playable position; a position that allows India to challenge for victory. The challenge for Sri Lanka will be not only to beat India but also to beat Dhoni’s method. And as we have seen over the last few years, that is easier said than done.