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In a shocking development, former Indian captain MS Dhoni took to Instagram to announce his retirement from international cricket. In the post that was accompanied by an emotional video, he thanked India for its support throughout his career.
In the wake of arguably India's greatest-ever captain hanging up his boots, we take a look at 5 memorable moments from MS Dhoni's tenure with the national team.
#5 MS Dhoni takes India to #1 in the ICC Test rankings
In December 2009, the Indian team led by MS Dhoni claimed the ICC Test mace that is awarded to the #1 team in the rankings for the first time in their history. After beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in a 3-Test series, India set the precedent for what was to follow.
MS Dhoni's successor Virat Kohli captained the Indian team for the #1 position as well, and stayed at the top of the rankings for almost four years. Moreover, the Delhi man's team have put on impressive performances overseas in South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand.
MS Dhoni taking the team to #1 on the Test rankings was a turning point in Indian cricket's history, especially given that most of the legends of the game that the team had were about to retire.
#4 MS Dhoni's masterstrokes help India win the 2013 Champions Trophy
The Champions Trophy was the only ICC tournament that MS Dhoni didn't have in his cabinet when India travelled to England in 2013. And the former Indian captain became the first skipper in history to win all three ICC trophies when his team beat the hosts in a rain-shortened final by 4 runs.
His decision to bring Ishant Sharma into the attack late on proved crucial as the lanky pacer picked up the wickets of Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara to derail the England chase. MS Dhoni also devised a cunning plan with Ravichandran Ashwin to get rid of the in-form Jonathan Trott.
#3 MS Dhoni hands over the captaincy to Sourav Ganguly in the latter's final Test
Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni are two of the greatest Indian captains of all time, and this moment must be etched in every fan's memory. In Dada's final Test match, the wicket-keeper handed over the reins in the final few overs of the game, with the series win all but in the bag.
Ganguly himself recently spoke about the heartwarming gesture, and stated that he didn't expect it at all. He said:
"That (handing over captaincy) was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t expect it. But MS Dhoni being MS Dhoni, he is full of surprises like his captaincy. We were winning the Test match and my mind was on retirement. I don’t know what I did for those 3, 4 overs."
#2 MS Dhoni leads India to the 2007 T20 World Cup
When MS Dhoni was announced as the captain for the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa, fans didn't quite know what to expect from the destructive batsman. But the long-haired wicket-keeper put all doubts to rest with masterstroke after masterstroke in the tournament.
MS Dhoni first won a bowl-out against Pakistan that saw only part-timers attempt to knock the stumps down, before bowling Joginder Sharma ahead of Harbhajan Singh in the last over of the final. The rest, as they say, is history.
The 2007 T20 World Cup win served as a sign of things to come, as MS Dhoni's men dominated ICC tournaments for the next 6 years. Moreover, the success in the tournament paved the way for the Indian Premier League to truly take flight.
#1 MS Dhoni brings the World Cup home after 28 years
India's hopes were never higher heading into the 2011 World Cup at home, and with the final against Sri Lanka firmly in the balance, fans were shocked to see MS Dhoni come in ahead of eventual Man of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh.
Countering Muttiah Muralitharan and picking apart Lasith Malinga, the skipper took charge of the sport's biggest game with an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls. As we all know, MS Dhoni hit the winning six, supplemented by the timeless voice of Ravi Shastri in the commentary box.
We are truly blessed to have been born in the era of MS Dhoni.
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