Four times MS Dhoni proved his greatness in ODI Cricket
There are stars, there are superstars, and there is MS Dhoni. From a long haired with shenanigans to hit monstrous sixes to being a leader of the ship, the transformation of MS Dhoni over the years is one of the fairytales of Indian cricket.
Dhoni, of course, is an obscure character who deludes himself from the limelight and believes in working on the process.
And this is where the legend of MS Dhoni is built on. From having immaculate confidence in his own ability to taking a chunk of responsibilities on his shoulders, MS Dhoni flatters to deceive with his demeanor.
While people may have apprehensions of his technique as a Test batsman, the ODI format is where Dhoni has managed to build a legacy for himself. In 318 ODIs, Dhoni has accumulated 9967 runs at an average of 51.38 and strike rate of 88.41.
In this blog, we will have a look at the four instances where MS Dhoni proved his greatness as an ODI batsman:
Here's my compilation:
#4 Australia vs. India, Chennai 2017
MS Dhoni (79 off 88 balls)
Chennai has always been a happy hunting ground for MS Dhoni, and he didn't disappoint this time either. It was the series opener between India and Australia. India batting first quickly found themselves in a lot of trouble on a cloudy Chennai afternoon tottering at 3/12.That soon became 5/87 and in walked MS Dhoni to a raucous reception from the Chennai crowd. Dhoni (79) played perfect second fiddle to a belligerent Hardik Pandya (83) initially but took on the role of an aggressor after Pandya departed in the 40th over.
He along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (32) helped India post a competitive 7/281 in their allotted 50 overs. Dhoni was particularly brutal on James Faulkner (1/67) taking him to the cleaners in the 49th over collecting 16 runs in the process. The rain played a spoilsport, however, as the heavens opened before the start of Australian innings. The Duckworth-Lewis eventually came into effect, and the revised target for the Aussies was a theocratically more comfortable 164 off 21 overs.
Australia was never really in the game as Hardik Pandya (2/28) and the two attacking wrist spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal (3/30), and Kuldeep Yadav (2/33) led India to a 26 run win. Pandya may have got the 'Man of the Match' performance for his all-round display, but MS Dhoni's pragmatic innings portrayed a supporting role without which the comeback wouldn't have materialized.