India’s most decorated captain MS Dhoni turns 40 on July 7. A fine batsman, explosive opener, lightning-fast wicketkeeper and an intelligent cricketing brain – Dhoni has played many roles throughout his career. 

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Here are three episodes that made Dhoni one of the best leaders cricket has ever seen: 

1) 2011 World Cup final:

Probably, the defining moment of MS Dhoni’s stint as the Indian skipper came on April 2, 2011. With India reeling at 114/3, Dhoni promoted himself in the batting order and came ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh. The Ranchi wicket-keeper batsman had scored 150 runs in eight games. However, defying the popular opinion, he came in at No 5 and not only tackled the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan but also kept the required run-rate under control. Dhoni scored an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls to put up a man of the match performance. His winning six off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 49th over led to India’s second World Cup. 

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2) 2007 World Cup final:

The senior players were rested for the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. After defying critics’ opinions throughout the tournament, beating the likes of South Africa, England and Australia, the Indian side reached the final where they faced arch-rivals Pakistan. 

The game came down to the last over. Pakistan needed 13 runs to win in six balls and Dhoni handed the ball to Joginder Sharma. This move did raise some eyebrows, especially after Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq hit the very second ball for a six. But Dhoni backed Sharma, spoke to him in between balls. Misbah went for a scoop shot over short fine-leg the very next ball but found S Sreesanth’s hands. Dhoni’s move of bringingJoginder Sharma for the final over worked and India won by 5 runs. 

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3) 2013 Champions trophy: 

Two decisions by MS Dhoni in the 2013 Champions Trophy guided India to a win. One, asking Rohit Sharma to open and two, backing Ishant Sharma to bowl the 18th over in the final. 

Ishant Sharma had been expensive throughout the rain-affected final. However, Dhoni handed him the ball in the 18th over with Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara at the crease. The pacer repaid Dhoni’s trust in him by picking two wickets and breaking the 64-run stand between Bopara and Morgan. 

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Rohit Sharma has become one of the finest Indian openers across formats. However, it was MS Dhoni who gave the Mumbai Indians’ skipper the opportunity to open for the first time. 

Sharma, in 2019, became the fastest to 6,000 runs as an opener in ODI cricket. He scored a record five centuries in the 2019 World Cup.