Whirlwind month sees MS Dhoni lead Team India from IPL muck to Champions Trophy glory

It was the IPL spot-fixing scandal and betting saga that engulfed Indian cricket as the team left home for the Champions Trophy at the start of the month of June.

In a press conference prior to the team leaving for England, MS Dhoni who was linked to owning some stakes in a player management company that allegedly manages some current Team India players refused to speak about the IPL spot-fixing.

With the dark shadow of cricket fans left feeling like they got a raw deal, the Indian cricket team started their Champions Trophy quest in the 'Group of Death' which had South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan in the same group.

Indian cricketers did not speak about the tension back home that the IPL had generated embroiling some fellow players and team owners for links to bookies. The team let their cricket do the talking as they emerged from their group unbeaten.

The 2011 50-over World Cup champions trounced Sri Lanka in the semi-final and then in the final held their nerve to outplay England.

MS Dhoni was seeking to complete a hat-trick of ICC trophies and managed to lead India with the same calm that he ushered them to the inaugural T20 World Cup win over Pakistan in 2007 and the 50-over World Cup win in 2011.

There was rain, drama and action all the elements to spice the match. Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli showed that India had a young brigade who could be counted on as Shikhar Dhawan continued in his dominating, power-hitting display.

Ishant Sharma stood up to the pressure of the final and rewarded Dhoni's trust in him by getting rid of Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara who looked like they would help England win their first 50-over trophy.

The fans were in the stands to cheer the team and at times it made people wonder who the home team was as there were more Indian fans than English.

MS Dhoni managed to pull off the right the tricks as India proved that they were the No1 ranked team and the World Champions in the 50-over game as they lifted the last Champions Trophy ever with a smart 5-run win over England in a rain-reduced 20 over match.

At a time when there was so much turmoil surrounding the Indian team, Dhoni's leadership qualities came to the fore as he managed to convince the team that if they played their best game they would manage to get over the gloom to a sunny side of cricket.

This is exactly what happened on Sunday night, the millions of Indian cricket fans who felt cheated and disappointed about the happenings around the IPL were able to smile and sing "We are the Champions" as MS Dhoni lead the Indian team to another laurel in international cricket.

Dhoni's maturity and spirit deserve to be lauded as he becomes the first captain to win all there ICC trophies-T20, 50-overs World Cups and Champions Trophy a feat  Australian Ricky Ponting was unable to achieve as the T20 World Cup alluded his team.

It takes a lot of courage and self-confidence to stand up in the tide of troubles, lifting and leading a team to achieve to its potential and MS Dhoni has managed to do just that.