5 Prominent trump cards of MS Dhoni

Captain charismatic MS Dhoni is not only known for his calm demeanour but also is very famous for his stunning leadership skills. His leadership style is unique. He doesn’t go by the tried and tested method nor he is a fan of orthodoxy. Dhoni has been remarkably successful in getting things done in his own through his surprising decisions. Some of his methods even take the purists and pundits by surprise who initially remain sceptical and then sing praises of his cricketing sense. He relies on his instinct to make crucial judgements and that has led to him having many unusual match winners, especially in the bowling department. Over the years, we have seen him use lesser known part-timers, who have little reputation as bowlers, to bring success to the team. Those bowlers, known as his trump cards, have been the surprising packages for the opposition. So, here in this article, we try to list 5 such unusual bowlers who have been the game changers for skipper MS Dhoni. 1. Joginder Sharma Joginder Sharma. (© Getty Images) Joginder Sharma was perhaps the biggest and the most famous trump cards MS Dhoni ever pulled out from his pack. A young skipper with an equally young team had defied the odds in South Africa to reach the final and set a title clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals. The high-intensity game had its moments which kept the fans glued to their seats. But, what no one would ever forget will be the last over of the game. Pakistan, who were chasing 158 to win, had simmered down the equation to 13 runs from the last six balls. With the dangerous Misbah ul Haq at the crease, every Indian was left in quizzing whether who would bowl the last and the most important over of the match. Dhoni kept his cool chose went ahead with the least likeliest candidate to bowl the last over – Joginder Sharma. The Haryana fast bowler had an international experience of only 4 ODIs and 3 T20Is before this game and many felt that this decision to make him bowl ahead of lead spinner Harbhajan Singh was absurd. However, lady luck was on India’s side and Misbah scooped one into the hands of the deep fine leg fielder as India won the game by 5 runs. This surprise move backed by gut instinct was the first of the many more out of box decisions which Dhoni made during his captaincy career. Also read – Joginder Sharma – From India’s World T20 hero to DSP 2. Suresh Raina Suresh Raina. (Photo by Christopher Lee-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) Suresh Raina may not have done anything as heroic as Joginder Singh but he has been Dhoni’s main trusted aid in the bowling department. Raina has been the player for India’s who balances bat and ball in the team. While it is his batting abilities that are superior and have won India many matches but keen followers would admit that his bowling contributions have also been crucial for India over the year. Limited overs specialist Raina is skipper Dhoni’s first option whenever the time to slow down the opposition came, especially when they had left-handers in the middle. Apart from clogging runs, Raina has also from time to time broke through with the important wicket for his team. Raina’s most memorable performance with the ball came against West Indies at Nehru Stadium in Kochi where he took a mmatch-defining3/34 in 10 overs. After being made to bat first, West Indies had resurrected their innings after losing Gayle early. Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo had steadied the innings and Dhoni sensed danger. After seeing the duo settling down against the frontline bowler, Dhoni, as expected, brought in Raina into the attack. The off-spinner didn’t take long and made Samuels depart to break the stand. He followed up this vital wicket with two more important wickets of that of Lendl Simmons and Narsingh Deonarine and help India bundle out Windies for just 211. Also Watch: Suresh Raina amazes with a great run-out off his own bowling 3. Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh. (Photo credit SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images) At his prime Yuvraj Singh was the most prized all-rounder in limited overs cricket. The dashing cricketer was a strong competitor who did not give an inch to the opposition. The combination of aggressive batting and canny left-arm spin made him a key one-day player for India. MS Dhoni was lucky to have a player like him at the early stage of his captaincy much before Suresh rain became his go-to man. Yuvraj, who flourished under the Ganguly’s leadership, proved to be Dhoni’s prime asset for a good period of time. There have been countless occasions where Yuvi has pulled match in India’s favour with his bowling. During the middle overs, when the game tends to slow down was the time he was very effective. While it is quite tough to pick out one single occasion where MS Dhoni used Yuvi to turn the tables, as there are many. His memorable bowling contribution can definitely be the spell he bowled during the 2011 Cricket World Cup, where he was adjudged the Man of the Tournament. Also check out – Why MS Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh in World Cup 2011 final? 4. Manoj Tiwary: Manoj Tiwary. (Photo Source: AFP) Manoj Tiwary was easily on of the brightest cricketing start of India in the late 2000’s. The young Kolkata batsman, however, was one of the least fortunate ones of India cricket and quickly faded away due to injuries after having played only 12 ODIs. Tiwary was a wonderful batsman and everyone knew it; what no one had any idea about was that Tiwary was also an able leg spinner .capable of containing the run flow. Dhoni obviously is always in search of such hidden talents and decided to use him as the trump card during the tour of Sri Lanka in the 4th ODI at Colombo. Dhoni was in an experimental mood that day and had used six bowlers in the game before bringing in Tiwary. The experiment worked and the part-time leg-spinner stunned the opposition by claiming match-defining figures of 4/61 which included the wickets of Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews. Also check out – 11 Forgotten faces in Indian cricket 5. Kedar Jadhav: Indian team celebrates a wicket. (Photo Source: BCCI) Jadhav was the surprise package in the India – New Zealand series and the latest man to emerge as MS Dhoni’s trump card. With only 1 First Class wicket under his name before this series, No one expected Jadhav to pick top order wickets of the Black Caps. He hogged the limelight more for his batting and wicket-keeping skills and was not really known for his bowling exploits. But, if MS Dhoni is assured of your abilities and that you can create an impact then the chances of failure are negligible. In the first ODI at Dharamsala, Dhoni stunned everyone by throwing the ball to Jadhav. On a green bouncy wicket, he was expected to bowl only a couple of overs before the frontline bowlers came back to the action. However, his off-spin caught the Kiwis off-guard and he returned with figures of 2/6. It was surprising most felt the accidental bowler was lucky. But, his dream runs continued in the nest two games at Delhi and Mohali where he snapped 11/11 and 3/29 respectively to become the second highest wicket taker with 6 wickets to his name. Also check out – 13 facts interesting about Kedar Jadhav

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5 Prominent trump cards of MS Dhoni

4. Manoj Tiwary:

Also check out – 11 Forgotten faces in Indian cricket

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