5 times when MS Dhoni was at the non-striker's end during a famous batting milestone
It won’t be wrong to state that MS Dhoni has been the driving force behind some of Indian cricket’s most memorable events in the recent past. As a batsman, Dhoni generally comes lower down the order, and he invariably stays till the end to finish off matches. If the other batsman is on song, Dhoni plays the ideal foil, giving the other batsman enough deliveries to pace his innings according to the situation.
Dhoni’s connection with luck is well-documented, and it seems to be an amazing series of coincidences that he has been present as a non-striker in a majority of individual batting milestones that have been achieved by an Indian batsman recently.
Here are five instances where Dhoni was present at the other end when a batsman reached an important milestone:
Suresh Raina’s 101 (2010) – First Indian T20I century
The fifth match of the World T20 in 2010 pitted the inaugural champions against a strong South African outfit. With no Sehwag or Gambhir at the top, India opened with Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay. Off only the second ball, Vijay was back in the hut and was replaced by Suresh Raina, brimming with confidence after a fruitful IPL season.
Luck was on his side, as he was caught off a no-ball early in the innings. Consistently backing away to make room, Raina fully utilised a wayward bowling display from the likes of Steyn, Kallis and the Morkel brothers. As his stay in the middle became longer, the precision and timing of his shots increased, with special treatment being reserved for Rory Kleinveldt.
MS Dhoni walked in at the fall of Yusuf Pathan’s wicket midway through the 19th over, and came up with a quick cameo to push the score past 180. On 95, Raina hit a six to become only the third international centurion in T20 cricket. And, Dhoni was there to applaud the feat from the other end.