NEW DELHI: MS Dhoni, the former Indian captain, who made his debut against Bangladesh in 2004, started his ODI career with a duck and a run-out, and ended it with a half-century and a run-out. In between, MS Dhoni played 297 ODI innings and scored 10,773 runs.
This is the story of the match that established MS Dhoni as the next big thing in Indian cricket. It was an India vs Pakistan match, a fixture that is generally high-pressure, with players expected to bring their best game.
It was an Indian summer match in April 2005 when Pakistan toured India. Pakistan was led by Inzamam-ul-Haq and India was captained by Sourav Ganguly. India batted first.
MS Dhoni, who had not yet delivered any notable performances on the international circuit, was promoted to the number three position. Sourav Ganguly sacrificed his batting position to give Dhoni a chance in the top order, alongside Virender Sehwag, who had scored a century in the first ODI of the series, and Sachin Tendulkar.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni had his chance to bat after Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed early. The young Indian player with long hair joined Virender Sehwag at the crease. Together, Dhoni and Sehwag built a steady partnership, adding 96 runs, with Sehwag leading the attack.
Virender Sehwag scored 74 runs off 40 balls before getting out. Following Sehwag’s dismissal, MS Dhoni stepped up to the crease. Dhoni went on to score his first ODI century by hitting 148 runs off 123 balls. His impressive innings included 15 fours and 4 sixes.
Misbah-ul-Haq, in a talk show, ‘The Pavilion,’ narrated that Rao Iftikhar told the Pakistan coach, “Yeh bohot khatarnak batsman hai, zara iska khayaal rakhein” (He is a very dangerous batsman; do take care of him).
Mahendra Singh Dhoni had previously showcased strong performances for India A, displaying his batting prowess with significant sixes. However, in his recent series, Dhoni faced a challenging first innings. Batting lower in the order, he managed to score only three runs before being dismissed.
Misbah then narrated what the Pakistan coach, Bob Woolmer, had said: “Isse 150-150 karwate rahein?” (You got 150 runs scored by him?).
In the next match, Dhoni scored 148 runs, and then Iftikhar told the coach and other players, “Iss tarah maara tha hamare ko” (He hit us like this).
Misbah ul haq 😡 talking about Ms dhoni || #shorts #cricket #youtubeshorts
MS Dhoni later went on to captain the Indian side and became the only captain in the world to win all three ICC white-ball trophies.