Astute captaincy scripts Chennai, Mumbai success
DHONI AND SHARMA CAN ELICIT MISTAKES FROM DOMINANT RIVALS
Who will play in the IPL final? Don’t be surprised if the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians clash on Sunday.
Let’s not get that far since the Gujarat Titans can still spring a surprise today. But Mumbai and Chennai have shown they are dominant forces in 15 years of the Indian Premier League.
The two share nine of the 15 titles, which makes them an integral part of the IPL story. What makes them so formidable? True, they are backed by big businesses and have strong teams. A powerful team doesn’t always translate into trophies. Ask the Rajasthan Royals.
The stability comes from a core team, where captains and coaches play pivotal roles. Stephen Fleming has been the Chennai coach since 2009, but Mumbai have been through several coaches, with Mahela Jayawardene helping them to a purple patch.
Chennai and Mumbai owes a lot of their success to their captains. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former Indian captain, and Rohit Sharma, current India skipper. Mumbai won the first of five titles under Sharma, who took over the reins from Ricky Ponting midway through the 2013 season.
Dhoni has led the Chennai Super Kings since their inception, except for a brief ill-fated captaincy spell by Ravindra Jadeja last season. In 16 years, Dhoni has lifted CSK to four titles from nine finals.
What sets them apart?
Dhoni and Sharma are unruffled in the face of crises. More importantly, the two can elicit mistakes from dominant rivals, allowing their teams to claw back into matches.
They have won games that looked like lost causes. A new line of attack, an unlikely choice of a bowler and a change in field positions would fetch the wicket that could open the floodgates. That’s the work of a good tactician: Dhoni and Sharma are just that.
Both are the antithesis of Virat Kohli, whose firebrand captaincy and aggressive tactics brought plenty of fine wins for India, but not for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Dhoni and Sharma are the quiet sorts.
Dhoni is so deadpan on the field it’s difficult to read his mind. He breaks into a smile only after the game is won.
In contrast, Sharma’s face reflects his mind: Frustration at a dropped catch and jubilation at a dismissal all plays out. But they are never over the top.
Reading the game
Post-match interviews are often very revealing. The Mumbai captain is not shy of airing his disappointment over a chase that collapsed bizarrely. When his team wins, Sharma is elated but never ecstatic.
Dhoni is at his best during interviews. He breaks down the game into small passages of play, dwells on the turning points, how his players played the situation and how it affected the result. For all his analyses, the CSK leader doesn’t give too much away on tactics and the work behind them.
Moulding players
Sharma is good at marshalling his troops on the field and working out tactics, but he’s rarely said to have moulded players or the team.
Dhoni is more hands-on. Between Fleming and Dhoni, they put the CSK squad together. They bring in players, work on them, and turn them into matchwinners. Look at Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway.
CSK buy discards and make them trump cards. Shane Watson, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu and Ajinkya Rahane are some examples.
Sharma is not a legend in Mumbai, but to get a team that starts slow with crippling losses to bounce back often takes a captain good at motivating.
Motivation. That’s what Dhoni and Sharma do. Same, yet different. Which is why I’m rooting for a Chennai-Mumbai final.