Chasing 316, India fumbled and faltered, losing wickets at regular intervals. Dhoni sent Raina (24) at number six and though the left-hander got the start, he could not carry on.

Finally when Dhoni came to bat, he was soon running out of partners and with the run rate skyrocketing, the India captain had no option but to take risks and he was the last man out as India fell 25-run shy of Pakistan’s total.

“In hindsight, promoting Raina was a mistake because I came late and was running out of partners,” Dhoni rued after the match.

“That decision was a mistake but it happens in cricket and you learn from mistakes,” he said.

According to Dhoni, a decent start and some lengthy partnership could have made the difference tonight.

“We did not start well and then did not have enough partnerships either. Losing too many wickets was the killer. We got runs at a decent rate but losing wickets at regular intervals cost us the game,” Dhoni rued

With the view of saving ammunition for the sprint towards the target in the final overs, Dhoni held himself back and sent in Suresh Raina at No. 6, a move he later admitted was a “mistake”. Raina composed a steady 24 but got out when the partnership of 73 with Yuvraj Singh was beginning to flourish.

“I made a mistake,” Dhoni said. “I should have come before Raina. That decision was taken in a positive frame of mind. If Yuvraj had played through, and Raina rotated the strike with singles, we would have been very comfortable at the end of the 40th over. With me and Irfan [Pathan] coming later it would have been an easy target.”

The damage to India’s chances, however, had been inflicted in the first half of the innings, when their middle order was unable to forge significant partnerships after Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failed to provide an explosive start for the first time in the tournament. Poor shot selection accounted for a few; at last the IPL hangover was evident.

Rohit Sharma, coming in at the fall of Sehwag’s wicket in the second over, began a counterattacking partnership with Gambhir. They had taken India to 67 in the 11th over when Rohit played a soft short-arm jab to deep backward square-leg and let the momentum slip away. It was the tale of India’s innings: each of the middle-order batsmen got starts but failed to carry on. After scoring 40, Gambhir cut to the man on the deep-point boundary, Yusuf Pathan - promoted to No. 4 to cash in on the fielding restrictions - drove straight to midwicket, and Raina hit possibly the worst legal delivery of the match - a leg-stump full toss - to deep square leg. India had three partnerships of above 50, but the best was only 73.

“It was very important to see through to the last five or seven overs with wickets in hand,” Dhoni said. “It was a flat wicket. Even a target of 300 was chaseable if you had wickets in hand at the end. We didn’t get a very good start and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

“At times you have to take a risk but [today], more often than not, the shots went straight to the fielder, who didn’t have to move. The selection of shots wasn’t really appropriate but at the same time you have to play shots while chasing over six an over. So we kept losing wickets even though we were scoring and we never had the momentum with us.”

India’s approach was in complete contrast to the clinical manner in which Pakistan had compiled 315. Their top-order batsmen, Salman Butt and Younis Khan, unmindful of the pedestrian run-rate during the Powerplays, took their time before launching into a methodical assault against India’s weaker bowlers. They didn’t give it away once they were set and added 205 runs for the second wicket. As a result Pakistan had eight wickets in had during the final overs. It made all the difference.

His inimitable coiffure became a cynosure of world leaders. Every inch of his tresses made front page news. He stood by his selected few and brought world to his feet. He gave the small town cricketers a chance to move forward.

He led with the ebullience of King Leonidas of Sparta. Call him the man in love with mean machines. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is by all means the new cricketing blockbuster.

Everyone knows where cricket in India was headed after the Men in Blue stumbled upon the Caribbean hurdle. Indian cricket had hit its lowest point. The coach refused to prolong his stint.

Rahul Dravid tendered his resignation on personal grounds. Tendulkar was offered the captaincy, but he rejected it. No one was ready to take on the gauntlet. The man of the moment or call it a guinea pig then was to be Dhoni, who by default got his hands on the hot seat as he was elevated to vice-captaincy just before the English and Irish tour.

Apparently, it was Sachin who recommended Dhoni’s name. But none other than Dhoni deserved this post for the way he has come up the ranks. His strong rooting to reality and a humble background pushed his case above the glamorous but out-of-form then Yuvraj Singh.

With no godfather, Dhoni’s throne is purely built on raw talent and his ability to treat the game like a game and not a religion. You can call this a stroke of luck that he got the job of a deputy skipper for ODI’s for the first time and was elevated to leader of the pack in no time at all.

Ask Mahendra Singh Dhoni and he will, probably, just flash a smile in your direction. Deep in his heart, though, he knows how much work has gone into his nascent success and how many sacrifices he has already made.

The tag, however, surfaced last September, when the Twenty20 captaincy unexpectedly landed in his lap. But then, the rare honour had nothing to do with his luck; it had more to do with the selectors’ foresight and willingness to take a risk.

They were probably emboldened as the Indian team was not expected to do well in the World Cup in South Africa: it had no track record in the abridged format and virtually no Twenty20 specialists either. Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Zaheer too pulled out as they didn’t see any hope for the team.

Dhoni saw all this as providence, as his chance to raise the flag for the lesser cousins of Indian cricket. He marshalled his resources ingeniously, kept everybody’s spirits high with his “we-don’t-give-a-damn-about-anything” attitude and carried his young gladiators forward.

He showed nerves of gold at critical times; he transformed potential into performance across the ranks; more amazingly, he chose not to turn to the tried and tested even when everything was at stake. It was captaincy at its raw best.

In the final, with Misbah-ul Haq just one step away from becoming our greatest villain yet again, he tossed the ball to Joginder Sharma.

Even the most reckless gambler, who normally doesn’t think twice before putting everything on line, would have balked at that stage.

He simply smiled and asked Joginder to go for it. As Misbah played another comical shot, the team converged into his arms from all corners. There were no ugly victorious gestures from Dhoni, no wild celebrations. Just pure grace.

A few months later, just after India unleashed a tsunami in Australia during the Test series, Dhoni was left holding the washed out pieces. Worse, he chose to look beyond the “seniors”, who had been the cornerstone of the team’s amazing performance till then, for the One-dayers.

Australia were already on song and it seemed like Dhoni’s comeuppance had come. He had already struggled for runs and his chosen ones were not delivering either. But almost incredibly, the Indian team found its feet and voice again and actually won the title in a canter. It was India’s first victory in a Tri-series Down Under.

Dhoni had to step into the captain’s shoes again when Anil Kumble pulled out of the third Test in Ahmedabad.

With South Africa in a rampaging mood, and without Sachin Tendulkar, nobody gave him a chance.

But as soon as the match commenced, it became apparent that the designer track that they had been waiting for was hidden here.

South Africa managed to get off to a good start but India are past masters on such pitches. They simply bamboozled them and won inside three days. Dhoni even joined a very exclusive band of captains who had won a Test on debut.

As the caravan moves into the IPL mould, Dhoni faces his toughest challenge. As captain of Chennai, he will have to take on Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman, Dravid, Sehwag and Yuvraj (apart from Warne). He has grown up idolizing almost all of them; can he outwit and outplay them now?

Curator Shiv Kumar said he was pleasantly surprised to receive a personal note of thanks and the cash reward from the stand-in Test skipper.

Kumar said regular Test skipper Anil Kumble, who missed the decider due to a groin injury, also came down to meet and thank him for preparing a “spinner-friendly” pitch.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also met Kumar to praise and thank him. Kumar said that the Green Park wicket was a sporting one.

Sinha, a retired government employee, had written a letter to Dhoni earlier, forbidding him to construct a swimming pool in his new house in the colony. At that time the matter of was pending in the high court.

In his letter, Sinha had mentioned that irrespective of the high court orders, the skipper should refrain from constructing a pool on his premises, as the area has acute water shortage.

Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, while heading a division bench, had earlier observed that the letter amounts to contempt of court as the matter was pending before a court of law.

The letter is unwarranted and uncalled for, the bench had observed, while deprecating Sinha’s actions.

The court had also directed the state government to ensure that its experts survey the topography of the area and suggest steps to improve the distribution of water.

The court also directed the government to file an affidavit to list the steps that could be taken to improve water supply in the area.

The matter will be taken up again on April 15. The case was originally filed by four local residents of the colony who had alleged that Dhoni twisted the rules to his advantage to construct the swimming pool.

The petitioners had said that if the pool was constructed the water-level would recede.

The team was announced in the presence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s one-day captain and wicketkeeper, and the captain of the Chennai Super Kings team.

Unveiling the team’s apparel, sponsored by Reebok, Dhoni said, “Being a captain always feels great, and I am proud to lead a young team. The ultimate aim is to win the trophy for the Chennai Super Kings,” he added.

The brand ambassador of CSK, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, jokingly justified his role in a 20:20 series. Srikkanth said that he never lasted for more than 20 overs in any form of the game and that should have prompted the team management to appoint him as brand ambassador.

The star ambassadors for the team, actors Vijay and Nayanthara hoped that the team would come victorious as champions in the eight-team tourney. Praising Dhoni for his leadership skills, Vijay termed him as a ‘cool captain’, while Nayanthara assured that her support is always for the IPL Chennai team.

Earlier, the team members including Suresh Raina, L Balaji, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath, Joginder Sharma and others were introduced in batches. The crowd, however, was disappointed when overseas players Mathew Hayden, Stephen Fleming, Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel failed to make it.

Kepler Wessels, former batsman and the only player to hit centuries for two different countries, Australia and South Africa, was officially introduced as the coach, while, Gregory King was announced as the physical trainer for the Chennai Super Kings team.

V B Chandrashekar, the assistant coach and who was instrumental in putting together this composition described the Chennai Super Kings team as “fearless entertainers”.

A gleaming Bipasha and an amicable Indian Cricket captain were indeed enjoying each other’s company.

It is not a secret that Dhoni and John Abraham are good friends. So, with John missing the premiere, may be chivalrous Dhoni was just giving company to Bipasha.

So when John is away, Bipasha certainly takes it in good sporting spirit!

Pathan said Dhoni showed trust in his teammates in Australia and motivated others and the result was the tri-series triumph Down Under.

“Three-four overs before the end of finals, he asked me to be prepared to take the ball. Such small things boost the morale of players, especially bowlers,” recalled Pathan.

The left-arm pacer, who was here to promote a telecom company, also dismissed notion that there was a senior-junior rift in the side.

“We don’t talk about seniors or juniors. Neither me nor anyone else,” Pathan said.

Asked if experience should also be a consideration for selection, Pathan said, “Performance is must and is accepted by all.”

To a query about on-field sledging, he said the Indian team handled the situation well in Australia.

“It was a group of young players and each one handles sledging differently. Nobody can prepare himself to deal with sledging, it is how one reacts to the situation,” he said.

He also had a word of advise for India’s World Cup winning under-19 team. Pathan said it was their formative stage and with right advise, fitness levels and hard work, they could definitely graduate to the Indian team.

Pawar recalled how the Indian team plunged into a crisis in England last year with the then captain Rahul Dravid dropping first hints of his reluctance to lead the team.

“By that time, Rahul had told me he could not concentrate on his game and requested me to find someone else. Some of the selectors wanted Sachin to lead and I conveyed it to him. But Sachin said, ‘please don’t do this.’ I asked then who should lead the side and he said ‘give it to someone like Dhoni’.

“He said ‘give Dhoni the opportunity. He has excellent relation with the team mates’. I told him I would not interfere but would definitely convey it to the selectors,” the BCCI chief said in New Delhi.

Pawar also hailed Tendulkar and fellow senior players Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble for paving way for the youngsters in the Twenty20 team.

“I was in England when we were playing them. Sachin met me and suggested ‘I know you don’t interfere with the team selection but you please tell the selectors not to include players of my generation in the Twenty20 squad. He said ‘my generation is not fit for Twenty20, so give opportunity to the youngsters.”

“Now who would come and say ‘don’t induct us’, when that means losing a few lakh rupees? I think we are fortunate to have players like Rahul, Sourav and Anil. Their commitment is unquestionable,” Pawar said.

Pawar praised Dhoni’s leadership qualities after the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman led India to Twenty20 World Cup and the tri-series triumph in Australia.

“Dhoni as the captain has done extremely good. He can motivate and has a good equation with other players. He is also cool [under pressure].”

He, however, seemed more impressed by Test captain Anil Kumble, especially after the veteran spinner handled the Sydney racism row with great maturity.

“I would say Anil Kumble has been remarkable as captain. He is a good motivator and his behaviour was impeccable both on and off the field. In true sense of the term, he was an ambassador of the country and we are proud of the way he handled the entire issue,” Pawar said.

During the racism row featuring Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh [Images], Kumble’s composure drew rich praise from all quarters.

Amid all the allegations and counter-allegations, Kumble’s lone observation was that of the two teams fighting a no-holds-barred battle in the acrimonious Test, only one team played in the true spirit of the game.