Dhoni told team don't celebrate win against Aussies, here's why!
What's the story
Dhoni's calm demeanor, ability to take quick decisions and astute mind games made him one of the most successful captains. His resume includes winning all major ICC tournaments. In his book, 'The Dhoni Touch', Bharat Sundaresan shares several interesting anecdotes about Captain Cool. But the one that stands out is his decision to not celebrate a victory against Australia in 2008. Here's the story.
History
Condition of Team India before Dhoni took charge
Before Dhoni became captain, India had crashed out of the 2007 ICC World Cup after defeats against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell quit their posts post this loss. After taking up the ODI captaincy, Dhoni led India to several victories both in India and abroad. Further, India reached new heights under his leadership, including being crowned the world champions.
Reflections
The attitude of the Australian team then
Australia, under Ricky Ponting, were probably the most successful ODI team ever. They were winning matches all around the world, had won two consecutive World Cups, and treated any other team inferior to them. As Bharat Sundaresan reveals in his book, any loss was an upset in their eyes and not a deserved win for their opponents.
Incident
Details of the match
This particular match took place in 2008 and Dhoni was captaining the ODI team for the 15th time. With only 10 runs left to score, Dhoni called for a change of gloves, only to pass on the instruction that no one should celebrate this win. He advised Rohit Sharma, his batting partner, to firmly shake hands with Aussies without any expression on his face.
Rationale
Dhoni's reasons for not celebrating
In Sundaresan's book, he says that Dhoni chose not to celebrate to send out a message. He wanted Aussies to know that it was not a shock that India had cruised past them with ease. For him, it was no big deal to win a match where his bowlers had performed well and bundled Australia for 159 runs. This is Dhoni at his best!