5 times when MS Dhoni was at the non-striker's end during a famous batting milestone

Raina
Suresh Raina scored the first T20I ton by an Indian in 2010.

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.

Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off Stuart Broad (2007)

Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes off Stuart Broad in the World T20 in 2007.

A pumped of Yuvraj Singh, instigated by a war of words with Andrew Flintoff during a World T20 fixture against England, decided to take out all his pent-up angst on a hapless Stuart Broad, carting him for six maximums from as many balls. Repeating the feat achieved by Herschelle Gibbs in the 50-over World Cup earlier that year, Yuvraj also completed the fastest fifty in the process. Broad hurled everything possible at him, but a ruthless Yuvraj Singh, already in red-hot form, dispatched all six of them over the fence with elan. A bewildered Flintoff could only watch in disbelief.

After the mayhem, a smiling Yuvraj walked over to punch fists with the non-striker, MS Dhoni, who had tickets to the best seat in the ground.

Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test hundred (2010)

Sachin
Sachin Tendulkar(L) reached his 50th Test century in 2010.

As a 17-year old in 1990, Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest Test centurion for India, scoring a sublime unbeaten 119 against England at Manchester. 20 years later, he was still in the process of scoring centuries for the country. In 2010, he became the first to reach the milestone of 50 Test centuries. the same year he became the first man to score a double century in ODIs, against the same opposition.

He drove a full ball from Steyn through the covers to reach the milestone, running across with his arms in the air and with the crowd roaring in celebration. As he looked up to the sky to savour the moment, it was MS Dhoni by his side at the other end. After acknowledging the crowd and fist-bumping Dhoni, Sachin was back to take guard once again.

Rohit Sharma’s 209 vs Australia (2013)

Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma became the third ODI double centurion in 2013.

Making his debut as a middle order batsman, Rohit Sharma struggled during his initial stint in the Indian colours, failing to live up to his potential. A switch to the top of the order turned out to be career-changing, as he evolved into a completely different batsman. The change was there to see in November 2013 against Australia, when he became only the third batsman to score a double-century in ODIs, a feat that he repeated the very next year.

In a seven-match series that went till the decider, Sharma stepped up to the occasion, starting slowly but assuredly to gauge the bowling, before changing gears to play shots all over the park. Off the first ball of the last over the innings, he went inside out and over the fence off Clint McKay to notch up his double ton. A smiling Dhoni walked up to Rohit Sharma from the non-striker’s end to congratulate him.

Sachin 200* (2010) – First ODI double century

Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to score a double ton in ODIs

In 1997, Belinda Clark became the first woman to score a double century in ODI cricket, but it took a further 13 years for the men’s game to get its first double-centurion in the format. Deservedly, the milestone was reached by Sachin Tendulkar in his 21st year of international cricket.Opening the batting with Virender Sehwag, Sachin never let the likes of Steyn, Langeveldt and Kallis settle down, playing textbook strokes to keep the score running along. He used his feet well to counter the spinners, and manoeuvred the fast bowlers all around the park as the score raced past 300, and eventually 400. Yusuf Pathan departed after a quickfire 36, and was replaced by captain Dhoni with the score reading an exact 300.

Dhoni walked in at No.5 and used the long handle to great effect, blasting a 35-ball 67 that took the score past 400. At one point, with Dhoni getting most of the strike, it felt as if Sachin would narrowly fall short of the double-ton. However, he eventually got there in the final over, steering a full ball to point to get to the milestone. Dhoni was, again, present at the other end to celebrate the moment with Sachin.

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Edited by Staff Editor