Leadership and cohesion script rise of Supergiant

As much as it has been a pedestal for fascinating stories, the Indian Premier League is also the breeding ground for several surprises. One often comes across the term that cricket is a great leveller. There have been several stories of hardships to success, heroes becoming antagonists, rags to riches, contrasting fortunes, so on and so forth. And IPL has seen a fair share of those. When it comes stories of contrast, an immediate example is that of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiant.

A team is the reflection of the captain and vice versa, it's said, and it's true in this case. Riding on Virat Kohli's exploits and telling contributions from several others, RCB had made it till the final of the IPL 2016. On the other hand, a struggling RPS was confined to a battle to avoid the wooden spoon. But a lot can change in a year's time and these two teams are the embodiment of that.

After a lengthy home season, India skipper Kohli appeared pretty drained and his state of mind reflected in the team's fortunes in IPL 2017 as they ended up at the last spot for the first time since the inception of the league. Meanwhile, RPS decided to invest in a new skipper, changed personnel and emptied coffers in an attempt to turn things around. The result of that is their maiden entry in the summit clash of the IPL and one of the chief reasons is the way the captain has marshaled his resources.

"Last year wasn't our year, we didn't play as well as we would have loved to, but it is a new year and hopefully we will start off well," Smith had said before the start of Pune's campaign and stressed on the need to capitalise in certain areas.

The various areas of improvement that Smith had identified and pointed out before the start of the competition was step one towards revival, but there were several more steps to take as it was a long climb in a long tournament. In effectively managing the tread, growing from strength to strength, building the confidence of the team and managing the resources, Smith has proved he has come a long way as a captain.

But for any skipper, there will be certain stumbling blocks and what might have appeared the right path could have soon turned out a journey that led astray, one that could have even led to a point of no return. In IPL 2016, RPS had started off with a victory before losing four in a row that expedited their downfall. This season, it looked like they were headed on the same path as a penultimate ball win against MI was followed by a hat-trick of losses. But it was a remarkable story of comeback, one that saw RPS win eight of their remaining 10 games in the league stage and get to the final at the first available attempt.

A captain is as important as the rest of the team. He can empower his team members to excel at roles they are good at, chalk out various strategies, be the driving force behind the amalgamation of potent unit. But it cannot be a one-way traffic as MS Dhoni, who had led CSK to two IPL titles, had found out last season. Game plans went awry, roles weren't backed by performances, poor form and a spate of injuries added to the woes, and it was a team in disarray. But hitting rock bottom meant the next direction was clear-cut.

Performances improved, both individually and collectively. A secure environment was created withing the team. As much as Smith was the shining beacon of the team, there were others who shone brightly throughout the season. Superstars lived up to their reputation, youngsters made the stage their own, Indian names proved they can be as good as overseas ones, and thus was born a new script.

"It (Smith's captaincy) has been equally important as every individual in the team. He has been nominated the captain and he shares what he has to with each and every individual. When the results fall in place, it (proves) that he is doing a good job. Everyone has played their part," Manoj Tiwary, who is playing his maiden season with this franchise, said after their third consecutive win over MI.

"I'm thankful to be given an opportunity to be part of a brilliant team which has the likes of MS bhai, Steven Smith, Ajju [Ajinkya Rahane] and a lot of talented players who have performed well in the IPL. Coming here, I've observed that the coach and the captain don't speak too much to the players. They make sure to discuss only specific things in the meetings and we don't have too many meetings where it takes too much of time. There are clear messages, short and sharp," he said, before reflecting on the team atmosphere.

"We've kept things simple and we've always had the belief. It's important to have a good atmosphere in the dressing room. Every player was in a happy state of mind and when you're happy you do well."

The challenges have been plenty for Smith but he has faced them head-on and hasn't been shy of asking for help whenever the necessity arose. Dhoni might feature as just a player in the eleven, but his inputs have been decisive. Changing fields, running up to the captain or the bowler with suggestions alongside his keeping duties, Dhoni has been a busy man this season.

So too have been the other players, feeding the captain with information and suggestions. Smith's knowledge on some of the local players and local conditions might be limited, but he's ensured that he is brought up to speed. Streamlining all that into a working model is where he has been a central figure in defining the true rise of Pune into a Supergiant.