Finally we are here and talking about the talisman of Indian cricket for the last 18 years and there has not been a bigger star in world cricket since Sachin Tendulkar and MSD was one of the best international players ever and his batting was so brutal yet so calm and all the fans of India knew that as long as he was there , India had a shot of winning. We will talk about all his Records below but I just want to say that writing this article is giving me a lot of joy and I cannot wait to write my Top 5.
MSD played 90 Test matches for India before announcing his sudden retirement. He scored 4876 Test runs in his career at an average of 38.09 and he also scored 6 Test hundreds which is great . In the ODI format he played 350 ODI Matches in his storied career and he has scored 10773 runs at a staggering average of 50.58 batting at number 5 and below most of the time. He has also made 10 ODI hundreds in his career. He has also played 98 T20I Matches for India which means a total of almost 500 international matches for India. Let’s see which are the Top 5 Best Batting performances of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
148 vs Pakistan (2005)
This was the 5th innings in the ODI career of Dhoni and he had failed in the first four and so it was important for him to stand up and show his skills and boy did he ever. He chose the perfect opponent as well and coming in at number 3 in this mat he absolutely destroyed the bowling attack of Pakistan and all the people were watching in shock at this young man just hitting brutally. He smashed 148 from just 123 balls and he hit 15 fours and 4 huge sixes meaning a total of 84 runs in boundaries and at a strike rate of 120.33. He had arrived and his only way was up.
Check here Best Rahul Dravid innings
183* vs Sri Lanka (2005)
At that time this was the most brutal innings I had seen by a player. This time he was chasing and India were chasing a score of 299 in 50 overs and again Dhoni came in at number 3 and from the first ball he went after the bowling and just started hitting fours and sixes all around Jaipur and some out of Jaipur as well. He made a staggering 183* out of the 303 India made and he hit 15 fours and 10 gigantic sixes in the innings meaning 120 runs in boundaries at a strike rate of 126.21. This innings stamped the authority of MSD.
Check here Best Sachin Tendulkar ODI innings
91* vs Sri Lanka (2011)
The night when Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the biggest cricketer in the world and a cult figure in India. We talked about Gautam Gambhir and his 97 in the same match but it was this man that hit the winning runs and that iconic six will always be remembered by every Indian team fan. He came in when the match was in the balance and he took apart the spinners first and then the fast bowlers. He made a tournament winning 91* and it consisted of 8 fours and 2 sixes and he played at a strike rate of 115.19 in. World Cup final and won the tournament for India.
Check here Best innings of Yuvraj Singh
85* vs Zimbabwe (2015)
This innings was the Innings that proved that Dhoni can do anything and he showed this day along with Suresh Raina. India were down and Out in this match and then these two come out to bat and they slowly build the innings back and Dhoni started going after the bowling and he made a brilliant 85* from just 76 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes and yet again won India a match that they should not have won.
Check here Best innings of Sourav Ganguly
224 vs Australia (2013)
The best test match Innings in the incredible career of Mahendra Singh Dhoni caps off our list and this was a very special and record breaking Innings because it was the highest score by an Indian Wicket-keeper and it came against Australia. Australia had made a good score of 380 in the first innings and India came out to bat and Dhoni came out to bat at number 6 and from there he took the Innings forward and he only took 265 balls to make an outstanding 224 runs and it had 24 fours and 6 huge maximums in ur which means a total of 132 runs in boundaries. He made these runs at an amazing strike rate of 84.53. He truly was a very special cricketer and his legacy will always be unparalleled just like Sachin Tendulkar.
