Does this win establish Dhoni as the greatest captain India has ever produced?

Yes it does.India was the favorite to win this time and it did.SA too was the joint favorite but it chose to choke under pressure. India's success was not so easy. The loss to South Africa after such a fantastic start was disappointing.The team was in tight spots in the QF, SF and final too but each time they recovered and fought back to win. This team resembles the Australian team under Steve Waugh which showed similar resilience. Dhoni himself keeps it very simple. He has been firm with the media, almost unpopular. There have been no over the top celebrations up till the final where the expressions were more emotional than exhibitionist.Dhoni was assertive in his comments. The way he dealt with Sreesanth was an example. He pointed out his mistakes but did not deny him his chance. Sreesanth cannot blame anyone but himself.Kapil led by example and so did Dravid but getting others to give out their best is the main role of a captain. Sachin always leads by example but he failed to motivate his team and so wisely gave up the captaincy to the others. Ponting has lost his calm and composure and so has been asked to step down in favor of Clarke. His inability to cope up with the pressure and to get his team to deliver was there for all to see. Dhoni listens to all but makes his own decisions and does not blame others. At the same time he is not afraid of pointing out mistakes.He keeps his emotions in check. One saw that in the finals at least thrice. first when Gambhir pulled perilously close to a fielder he walked down and asked him to take it easy, Gambhir immediately buckled down but not for long as he tried an ambitious slash and lost out on a man of the match prize.Then Yuvi rushed him into a single and Dhoni was almost run out. Even as he slowed down after crossing the stumps one could see he was livid. He gave Yuvi a withering stare and when Yuvi repeated the mistake again he had a lot to say to him but he was never out of control like for instance Afridi and Dilshan. Most importantly he admits his own mistakes but is forever ready to move on. Quite simply he produces results and when things go wrong he takes the blame and focuses on the bigger picture.He is able to command his team mates' respect and loyalty. There are no groups in this team and they enjoy each other's success. For all this the credit should go to the capatain.

Hi hotranger! I think greatest is just a word which tries to equal all conditions and factors as equal at all times! Which is not true. Can you guarantee Dhoni would have been this successful if he was playing in 1950 or 1970s? So how can you say that those captains were not great? Do you measure great captain by trophies won? Earlier captains didn't have much resources. Do you declare current Bangladesh captain as best ever because he is winning more matches than earlier captains? Actually those earlier captains have put the effort and built the team. So how can you compare one captain to other? It is true that Dhoni is a fantastic captain. But why do you want to belittle other pioneer captains by calling Dhoni as greatest? I still think Kapil's 1983 is better than Dhoni's 2011 victory. Kapil's team was not a favorite as Dhoni's current team is. Still within the resources available Kapil's team did unthinkable against the mighty West Indies. Compared to that West Indies team current Sri Lanka team is not that strong. Why that, 1996 Sri Lanka was far better than current one. So you can't really belittle those Indian captains who had to fight against the best of the best in the world. Can Dhoni win against Hayden, Gilly, Ponting, Warne, Mcgrath team with the team that Ganguly had? Doubtful. So why compare one captain to others? If India had lost the final would you have called Dhoni as greatest? If not, then just one match makes him great or not? I think Dhoni is one of the best captains India has ever had but I doubt he is greatest of them all. Happy Mylotting!

Hello hotranger, Better or best comes from comparison. I do not say Dhoni is the best captain only because that under his captaincy India has won the ICC world Cup 2011. This present team or Dhoni is the product of the past. Not that from no where Dhoni and his team sprung up and won the cup. There was layer of foundation started since India's first World Cup win. Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and specially Gangully have immensely contributed to the spirit and gravity of this team. Neither I say Dhoni a lucky guy. Things just did not happen for his sake. He worked hard and only then they came his way. Yesterday he showed how coolly he could bat.

All the captain are great of their time. About Dhoni I think he has some quality. Beside dhoni young cricketers like Gambhir, Kohli, Raina, Yusuf all are doing well and sincer about the game. In future performance of the improved too much.

Hi hotranger, True, Dhoni deserves the great captain. Best thing is he balance himself in all situations and manage to take up, which is a required quality of any captain. Yes even my dad says he is lucky, so he gets all win. But I would say he has the balance and composed mind, determined thats one way of that winning game. I would also add Gary Christein..he is the silent winner . I would say without him, Indian team wouldnt be so well fielded, I get reminded South Africans fielding of those days. I am big fan of south africans fielding, so i no doubt will say its purely Gary Christein in terms of team performance at the fields.

dhoni is the best captain ever in indias cricket history under his captainship we got 2 worlds cups in just 3 years he is not so old i think he will let us get more and more worlds which is because of his coooooool temprament

I definitely think Dhoni is the best captain India has had and also the best captain in the world at present. He is very smart and clever and does gamble at times. His calmness and composure his a boost to the team when compared to many team captains who react badly in losses and tough situations of the game. He motivates bowlers and rotate the bowling very well and also good in field placement. He is the captain which many teams would love to have...

It is true that whatever Dhoni has achieved till date none of his ancestors can match it. Dhoni got tastes of winning the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, IPL, Champions trophy, won many overseas matches and series, got the numero uno position in test cricket too. What more are left for him ? He got almost everything he could achieve as a captain. He can sleep peacefully now. He won in Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies and so on. Except Kapil Dev none could win the World Cup before him. So Dhoni can be rated one of the best. Dhoni has the luck too. Else he could got trouble like Saurav had for the reign of the Australians. Australians champion players and match winners had retired and whoever left like Ponting are now the shadow of his past only. So except South Africa none were real challengers of the Indian team now. In Asian subcontinent the Asian team could be real challengers too which Dhoni overcame atlast to reign the World now. But one thing whatever Saurav did like picking up and making a brigade for the war, that Dhoni didn't have to do. Most of his players except Sachin, are the fruits of Saurav Ganguly even Dhini himself too. Saurav started the path and Dhoni finished it successfully at last. Now it is to continue the successful run.

I think Dhoni is the best captain india has ever produced..........

Dear Hotranger, I am not sure if Dhoni is the greatest Indian Captain ever. But one thing is for sure, he is a wonderful leader. His biggest plus point is that he is cool under pressure. When it comes to big matches, he performs better. Under him India has chased well. In fact, this world cup, India has not lost a match chasing. But he has shown some flaws in decision making. Earlier on during the league matches when the power plays were over, Dhoni was very defensive in his field setting. He gave away easy singles. He shows faith in players by sticking with them when ever they go through a bad patch. But sometimes it becomes a little too much. Some team selections were questionable like leaving Ashwin for Piyush Chawla or Sreesanth or Ashish Nehra for that matter of fact. He also stuck with Yuvraj and Raina for a bit too long when they were not performing for very long time. They were dropped and when they were taken back, they became match winners. People tend to over look these matters when a team is winning. But these small matters become big issues if a team is on the losing side. But all said and done, the team has produced results under Dhoni. the 2007 T20 World Cup, the win in Australia one days series, The Asia cup win after a long gap, drawing a series in South Africa, a white wash against Australia in India and now the ODI World cup. We should not forget the IPL and Champions League Championships under him for Chennai Super Kings. Under him somehow the team seems to enjoy playing with each other and plus the team seems to raise the bar in pressure circumstances. All I say is that any captain is as good as his team. This was not the best team ever since the bowling was flawed. Yet India won. Dhoni has managed to get the best out of his team when it required. I do not know if Dhoni is the best Indian Captain ever, but he is a Great Captain for sure. And credit has to be given to Gary Kirsten and the Support Staff too. Share your views... Balu

I cannot say that Dhoni should be rated over all those awesome players but yes Dhoni indeed led Indian team to the ultimate victory over the world cup. All the players you have mentioned led India successfully in need. We can never forget their contribution towards Indian Cricket. Regarding luck, i would say luck comes to the ones who work hard. It was Dhoni's and Indian Team's efforts that brought this major victory not sole luck. Cheers!