Jakati looked back at that night recently, in an interview with Wisden India, and particularly remembered how Dhoni tipped the tie in Chennai’s favour when he instinctively changed the plan during the Mumbai chase and orchestrated Chennai’s win.

Pursuing 169 to win the title, Mumbai were steered out of a wobbly start by captain Sachin Tendulkar, who managed to put them into a solid position after 12 overs. “I had gone for 21 runs in my first two overs,” Jakati recalled. “With left-hander Abhishek Nayar batting, Dhoni told me I’d now bowl in the middle overs.”

It was the same match where Dhoni had earned accolades for his famous move to force the dismissal of a rampant Kieron Pollard, by placing a straight mid-off and long-off exactly in line with each other. It challenged Pollard to hit down the ground, and he hit it down the fielder’s throat.

“In that particular match, he got Pollard out placing [Matthew] Hayden right behind the bowler,” Jakati said. “He did quite a few things. He used to know which bowler to bring on at what time. Basically, he was a captain who knew how to get the best out of the players at the right time.”

Jakati also revealed how Dhoni backed his gut instincts during the game, but also balanced it by giving the bowlers the freedom to make their own plans.

“He never attended any bowlers’ meeting,” Jakati said. “[That’s] purely because he backs his own instincts and gut feeling at that particular time of the match. He gave us freedom to choose our fields, and if it didn’t work, he’d use his brains. But the first preference was us.”