MS Dhoni at 300: World Cup final to ice-cool finishes, a look back at his best ODI innings

It is only fitting that MS Dhoni will play his 300th One-Day International match against Sri Lanka. From the his personal best of 183 not out in 2005 to his World Cup-winning knock in 2011, some of Dhoni’s top innings and best cricketing moments have been against the Islanders.

But when it comes to the former captain, top and best are not interchangeable. His best performances are not always big scores, but the little vital contributions he makes to tense victories. Perhaps the best indicator of this are his not-out statistics.

He has been unbeaten in 72 innings, currently tied with Shaun Pollock and Chaminda Vaas, at the top. But 40 of these have come in successful chases – the highest by any player. Couple that with his over 9,600 runs at an average of almost 52 and a strike-rate of about 89, and it tells you what an impact he has had in the 50-over format.

As MS Dhoni nears yet another milestone, here’s a look at his five top and most impactful performances in ODIs.

91* against Sri Lanka at Mumbai in 2011

Over 48.2. India need four runs to win. Nuwan Kulasekara bowls one full. Dhoni thwacks it over long-on and stares at the ball as it sails over the ropes. This moment has been frozen and framed in the memories of cricket fans in India and more recently in his biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

This one has to be on the top of every list of the best MS Dhoni innings complied, the knock that helped India lift the World Cup on home soil, the knock that the entire narrative of his biopic is based on.

India were at 114/3 chasing 275 in the World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Virat Kohli had just got out and the star of the tournament so far, Yuvraj Singh, was to come in next. But the captain saw something in the situation and decided to promote himself up the order. And the rest is well, pardon the cliché, but history.

Dhoni went on to score an unbeaten 91 that culminated with that six that sealed the World Cup. A gritty knock under enormous pressure, a vital knock after the gamble of coming up the order. But in the end, India had done it, won the coveted trophy after 28 years and become the first team to do it at home. This was also the knock that sealed MS Dhoni’s legacy in Indian cricket annals far ahead of many other successful players, because of the captain’s innings in the toughest match of a player’s career.

148 against Pakistan at Visakhapatnam, in 2005

This was the knock that introduced international cricket to the slam-bang avatar of Dhoni. For anyone following Indian domestic cricket around the times, they would have definitely heard of the long-haired Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman who consistently hit big scores. But when he was given the chance to don the India blue, Dhoni surprisingly had a quiet start with a golden duck in his first game against Bangladesh and unimpressive outings in his first four matches.

But in his fifth game, against archrivals Pakistan no less, Dhoni was given the chance to go in at No 3 after India chose to bat first. What followed was sheer entertainment as the he lived up to his billing with a 123-ball 148. Studded with 15 fours and four sixes, the Pakistan bowling lineup Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq, Naved-ul-Hasan and Shahid Afridi had no idea what had hit them. His knock took India to a mammoth total of 356 India went on to win the match by 58 runs.

This innings was the turning point for Dhoni’s career and since then, no cricket fan would have forgotten his name.

183* against Sri Lanka at Jaipur in 2005

If his 148 against Pakistan was an announcement of his arrival in the big league, his unbeaten 183 off only balls 145 against Sri Lanka later was the laminated confirmation that MS Dhoni was no ordinary pinch-hitter. A delightful, powerful innings, it was indeed much like the Diwali firecrackers as Ravi Shastri enthusiastically compared the innings to after the match.

Sri Lanka had scored 298 – a huge ODI score 12 years ago – thanks to a solid, unbeaten century from Kumar Sangakkara. In response, Dhoni was once again sent up the order ahead of Yuvraj and captain Rahul Dravid. He then took the attack to a bowling lineup featuring Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan slamming 15 fours and 10 sixes to reach his personal best score of 183 not out, also the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper-batsman. India ended up winning the match by six wickets with 23 balls to spare.

At the time, he was still relatively young and was fast-becoming hot property, a long way from his short-haired ‘Captain Cool’ persona now. But to anyone who watched him feast on the famed Sri Lankan bowling, it was evident that MS Dhoni was set for a long haul with his ability to strike big and run quick.

44* against Australia at Adelaide in 2012

Why is a knock of 44 included in this list? Because this seemingly innocuous knock is among the best examples to illustrate why Dhoni is considered the best finisher in cricket. Forget the big scores and record number of not outs in successful ODI chases, it is in these small numbers that he has made the biggest difference.

Chasing a score of 270 runs against the Aussies at their home, India had a good foundation laid by Gautam Gambhir’s 92. But wickets fell fast and in walked Dhoni at 178/4, with 92 needed in a little over 15 overs. It was an attritional innings with no fours and more dot balls and singles in the 58-ball 44. Even with wickets falling at the other end, Dhoni held his nerve and brought down the margin to 13 runs from the last over. While that may have been a little too much to ask, Dhoni responded with a a massive six off Clint McKay on the third ball of the final over and India won by four wickets with two balls to spare.

45* against Sri Lanka at Port of Spain in 2013

Yes, there are already enough innings against Sri Lanka in this list. But maybe there is something about Sri Lanka (and perhaps tough chases) that brings out the best in Dhoni. In the final of the Tri-Nation Series, he scored an ice cool 45 in 52 balls to single-handedly guide India’s narrow win – by one wicket with two balls to spare.

It wasn’t a huge chase but Sri Lanka had made 201 on a treacherous pitch. India had similar problems and soon slumped to 145/5 in the 35th over, when Dhoni walked in. Suresh Raina had just fallen and he was essentially left with the tail but Captain Cool kept his calm even against the lethal Lankan bowlers. With 15 runs required off the last over, Dhoni smashed Shaminda Eranga for two sixes and a boundary in just four balls to seal a thrilling win.

By 2013, the year India had won the Champion Trophy in England, Dhoni was already the zen-like figure he was. Even as the hair, the batting style and running speed changed, his ability to turn matches single-handedly clearly continues.

Dhoni has already led India to wins in the last two ODIs against Sri Lanka. Let’s see what he does in his 300th ODI.