Through the looking glass

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

     Initially he was appreciated for his golden mane, unorthodox batting and flamboyant nature. As time went by, his batting lost its bite and so did the length of his hair. After India's disastrous World cup exit in 2007, Dhoni was handed over the captaincy of the men in blue. It didn't take long for the selection to be justified. A few months later, India won the inaugural T-20 (Shaz referred to as T-T champions - ICC refused to accept Shaz as a part of them) and the rest as they say is history. 

     Dhoni's publicity mounted the charts while his batting average finally seemed human-like (it had started off Bradmanesque and dropped down to Hussyish before resting at Tendulkarness, maybe a tad higher). The subsequent years reflected the shift of power from the traditional mansions of Indian cricket. A Bengali, Marathi, Delhite and Bangalorean being captained by a modest man from Ranchi was unheard of in these parts of the World.  Especially when they were linked with the names Ganguly, Tendulkar, Sehwag and Dravid respectively.

     The IPL raked in the moolah. 6 crores for a wicket-keeping batsman who could lead from the front. Awestruck, the world awaited with bated breath as the King claimed his throne over the next 3 years. As India climbed higher in the longer versions of the game, (T-2o is considered as the only short version, barring Mr. Duckworth's and Mr.  Lewis' own form of the game) the critics sharpened their knives on Mahi's batting. The B-52 bombers were replaced by canoe rowers, and some of his selection decisions failed to apply to public logic (a.k.a Ravindra Jadeja). But Dhoni savoured his moments. The IPL, Champions league and of course the highly publicized wedding. For once, a captain shut his critics with his actions rather than his shirt.

     For the last 20 years, no Indian captain came this close to usurping Kapil Dev as India's best captain. On saturday night, he joined the ranks of Sachin and Kapil as legends of Indian cricket. Throughout the tournament his batting form was criticized and so too some of his baffling decisions. But in the end none of them seemed to matter. For we witnessed one of the finest batting displays in a final. And he hardly seemed to break a sweat. As the night trudged to a close, Dhoni towered over the world - all conquering. And relief spread over a billion faces.

"There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter."