5 underrated MS Dhoni innings in a winning cause

Last night, the world again witnessed something it has gotten used to in the last decade or so - Mahendra Singh Dhoni staying till the end and finishing the match for India.

There are several instances of the former India skipper taking the team across the line in limited-overs format, which has earned him the 'best finisher in the world' tag.

His unbeaten 91 in the 2011 World Cup final, his knocks against Australia (Adelaide, 2012), Sri Lanka (2013 Port of Spain) etc. are few innings that are close to the fans' heart.

Let us take a look at some of his underrated innings (all formats) that resulted in India's win.

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#5 46* vs West Indies in Gros Islet, 2009

One of the many instances when MS Dhoni hit a last ball six

After leveling the four-match series 1-1, thanks to an 8-wicket win in the second ODI, West Indies came into the third match of the series high on confidence. The hosts were put into bat by India and just when things were about to get underway, rain interrupted.

There was a brief delay and the match was reduced to 41-overs a side. More rain just after the start of play meant that match was reduced to 39 overs a side. Just after the resumption, Ashish Nehra struck as he removed the dangerous Chris Gayle for 27 off just 14 balls.

Further rain forced the officials to curtail the match down to 27 overs a side. Ramnaresh Sarwan's 62, along with some notable contributions from all the other batsmen, took Windies to 186/6 in their 27 overs.

India's target was revised to 159 in 22 overs, thanks to some more rain. India were off to a great start as Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir put on 84 runs for the first wicket in 12 overs before the former perished.

Skipper Dhoni walked out to bat with 75 runs needed off 59 balls to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Though Dhoni was playing the sheet anchor's role to perfection, wickets kept tumbling at the other end. India needed 11 runs to win off the last six deliveries and Yusuf Pathan took a single and gave the strike to his skipper.

Dhoni picked up a slower one from Jerome Taylor and dispatched it over the mid-wicket boundary for a maximum. That reduced the equation down to four runs off four balls and Dhoni followed the six with a double and a single respectively off the next two balls.

Yusuf Pathan finished off the match on the penultimate ball with a single. With this win, India took a 2-1 lead in the series and went on to win the series with the same margin. Dhoni was adjudged the player of the match for his unbeaten 46 off 34 balls with the help of two boundaries and one six.

#4 45* vs West Indies in Perth, 2015

Chris Gayle congratulates MS Dhoni after India's win

India started off their 2015 ICC World Cup campaign on a high by beating Pakistan, South Africa and UAE in their first three matches. A win in the fourth match against West Indies would've made sure that the Indians qualify to the knockout round.

After choosing to bat first, West Indies were off to a disastrous start as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. After being reduced to 85/7, the last three wickets put on 97 runs together and took their team to a decent, yet below-par total of 185. Skipper Jason Holder was the top-scorer with 57 runs while Mohammad Shami picked up three wickets for the Men in Blue.

India's chase was off to a worst possible start as they lost both the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan early with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane following them to the pavilion soon after.

Skipper MS Dhoni tried to revive things, but his efforts were on the verge of going down the drain as India lost two more wickets in quick succession. It all came to the last recognized set of batsman R Ashwin to support his skipper with 52 runs needed to win with more than 20 overs in hand.

Ashwin played the supporting cast as Dhoni manipulated the chase with ease and helped India cross the line by 4 wickets with more than 10 over to spare. With this win, India made it to the knockouts of the 2015 World Cup.

Dhoni remained unbeaten on 45 off 56 balls and took his team home. Mohammad Shami was adjudged the Player of the Match for his spell that restricted the opposition to a partly score.

#3 45 vs South Africa in Durban (T20I), 2007

This is the only T20I innings that feature in this list. India somehow managed to sneak into the second round of the 2007 World T20 and lost their first match to New Zealand in the super eight stage.

They won the next match against England, thanks to Yuvraj Singh's six sixes and went into the last super eight match with a chance of making it to the semis.

After choosing to bat first, India lost the wickets of Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Virender Sehwag inside the first six overs with just 33 runs on the board.

Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma tried to pull things back, but Uthappa lost his wicket against the run of play with the scorecard reading 61-4 after 10.2 overs.

Skipper MS Dhoni joined Rohit Sharma at the crease and both the batsmen complemented each other well. Batting on 10, Dhoni survived a chance when Morne Morkel couldn't spot the ball, thanks to the floodlight and after that, there was no turning back for the skipper.

Both the batsmen put on 85 runs in 8.5 overs and took India to a decent position. Rohit remained unbeaten on a 40-ball 50 while Dhoni was not out of 45 off 33 balls with the help of four fours and one six.

India posted 153 runs on the board and bundled out the hosts for just 116 in their 20 overs. With this win, India reached the semis and eventually, went on to win the tournament. Though Rohit was adjudged the man of the match, Dhoni's stay at the crease and the runs he scored were very crucial for India in the context of the game.

#2 85* vs Zimbabwe in Auckland, 2015

After winning their first five group stage matches, India took on Zimbabwe in the last match of the round in Hamilton. This was more of an inconsequential tie as India had already sealed the top spot in their group. But, a loss would've derailed their momentum going into the knockouts.

After winning the toss, India put Zimbabwe into bat. Indian fast bowling trio of Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma got early breakthroughs as Zimbabwe were reduced to 33/3 after the 11th over.

Stand-in skipper Brendan Taylor, who was playing his last match for his country, stitched together a 93-run stand with Sean Williams for the fourth wicket and followed it up with a 111-run stand for the fifth wicket with Craig Ervine.

Taylor eventually got out for 138 with the scorecard reading 235/5 after 42 overs. Inside the next seven overs, the Indian bowlers dismissed Zimbabwe for just 287. Indian top order failed again as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane fell cheaply. Virat Kohli followed them soon after and that left India in a spot of bother with 196 runs required from 27 overs.

Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni played counter-attacking innings as they took the attack to the opposition. The duo was hardly troubled by the Zimbabwe bowlers as they reached their fifties and looked to take the game away from the Chevrons.

Raina stepped on the accelerator and reached his century off 94 balls. Both of them made sure that India went on to win the match by six wickets. Raina was not out on 110 off 104 balls while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 85 off 76 balls.

#1 92* vs South Africa in Indore, 2015

Dhoni silenced his critics with his unbeaten 92 against South Africa

Going into the second ODI against the Proteas, MS Dhoni had faced a lot of criticism as he failed to finish off from an easy position in the previous match.

India won the toss and decided to bat first at the Holkar Stadium. Centurion from the previous match, Rohit Sharma departed cheaply. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli departed soon after as skipper Dhoni walked out to bat.

Dhoni started off slowly and in the mean time, Ajinkya Rahane scored his fifty and got out for 51. Suresh Raina and Axar Patel didn't provide support to Dhoni as India were reduced to 124/6 after 30 overs.

Dhoni got his eye in and kept the scorecard ticking along with the tailenders. He reached his fifty off 57 balls and stepped on the accelerator. He scored his next 42 runs off just 31 balls and took India to a decent total of 247/9 in their 50 overs.

Dhoni missed out on a well-deserved ODI century by 8 runs as he remained unbeaten on 92 off just 86 balls with seven fours and four sixes.

India went on to win the match by 22 runs and Dhoni was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant knock.