The sight of MS Dhoni walking out to bat after Virat Kohli's dismissal in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka was fascinating for more reasons than one. Yuvraj Singh had been by far India's most consistent batter in the tournament in the middle-order and Dhoni was woefully out of form by his standards. In a crunch situation with the World Cup on the line, the normal would have been to send Yuvraj at number five. But then again, where will the Dhoni touch go if everything happened according to the script? In walked Dhoni, showing no signs of nerves whatsoever. The outcome? A brilliant unbeaten 91-run knock off just 79 balls with eight fours and two sixes - one of them being the iconic one off Nuwan Kulasekara to finish the match.
11 years down the line, Dhoni's promotion ahead of Yuvraj in the final is still talked about in Indian cricket circuit. Whose decision was it? Paddy Upton, India's mental condition coach in the 2011 World Cup, reveals it was Dhoni's.
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"I often get asked about Dhoni’s elevation in the batting order, him going ahead of Yuvraj. This is a first-hand recollection and not a story that I heard," Upton wrote for Indian Express.
Upton narrated how Dhoni had knocked on the window from the inside half of the dressing room to catch then head coach Garry Kirsten's attention and signal that he would go in next when Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were batting in the middle.
"To start with, Dhoni always likes to stay inside the dressing room during a game and not sit out. It was the same that day. He was behind the full glass frontage that is there at the Wankhede dressing room. Gary was sitting outside and I was right next to him. I remember distinctly, I heard a knock on the window. Gary and I turned around the same time. It was Dhoni, he indicated he was batting next. That was it. Sign language. Gary just nodded.
{{/usCountry}}"To start with, Dhoni always likes to stay inside the dressing room during a game and not sit out. It was the same that day. He was behind the full glass frontage that is there at the Wankhede dressing room. Gary was sitting outside and I was right next to him. I remember distinctly, I heard a knock on the window. Gary and I turned around the same time. It was Dhoni, he indicated he was batting next. That was it. Sign language. Gary just nodded.
{{/usCountry}}"There was no talk between the two. Dhoni had made the decision that this was the time for him to stand up and do what Dhoni does. He would do what he is the best in the world at – which is seeing a team home in a chase in the second innings in a white-ball game. He had delivered nothing in the eight games before the final. Yuvraj had done his bit, he had played his tournament. He was done, he was spent. That moment was set up for someone like Dhoni.
"The moment just a testimony to his leadership and courage, it spoke a lot about his relationship with Gary. Mind you, Gary didn’t have to stand up and have a conversation with Dhoni to discuss the merits and demerits of the move. It was just the two leaders of the team being on the same page. The knock on the glass, him pointing to himself, Gary’s nod… and it was done. I do remember very clearly when Dhoni walked down the stairs, I turned to Gary and said “Do you realise Dhoni is going there to fetch us the World Cup?” I had absolute conviction that Dhoni would come back with the trophy," Upton said.
India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to lift the World Cup after 28 years.