Celebrating Captain Cool: 5 greatest MS Dhoni innings that went in vain

#2 MS Dhoni's 113* off 125 vs Pakistan (ODI, 2012)

MS Dhoni raises his bat after scoring a hundred against arch-rivals Pakistan

In MS Dhoni's adopted home of Chepauk, the ODI leg of Pakistan's tour of India got underway in December 2012. This series is remembered for being the last bilateral series played between the neighbouring countries, but also for MS Dhoni's brilliant ton in the first ODI.

Coming in with India in tatters at 29-5, the skipper steered his team to a competitive total of 227, only to see Pakistan chasing it down with 9 balls to spare, riding on Nasir Jamshed's century.

MS Dhoni's 113-run knock, which featured 7 fours and 3 sixes, thus went in vain, although he was awarded the Man of the Match. India also went on to lose the 3-match series 2-1, with a win in the 3rd ODI but a mere consolation.

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#1 MS Dhoni's 84* off 48 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL 2019)

CSK skipper MS Dhoni scored a career-best 84* off 48 balls in IPL 2019

Defending champions CSK found themselves facing eternal rivals RCB at Bengaluru in the 39th match of the 2019 IPL. After Parthiv Patel's fifty took the home side to a below-par 161, Dale Steyn's fiery spell with the new ball saw him scalp the important wickets of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina.

However, despite coming in at 28-4, captain MS Dhoni nearly pulled off a heist of the highest order with virtually no support from the other end. With 26 runs required off the last over to be bowled by Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli's side all but had the game in hand.

4, 6, 6, 2, 6 - this was what ensued off the first five balls of the last over, and the equation came down to 2 runs off the last delivery. However, Yadav finally managed to find (and hold) his nerve to bowl a widish ball that MS Dhoni missed. Parthiv Patel hit the stumps to find Shardul Thakur inches short, but despite the loss, the world was witness to MS Dhoni's career-best innings of 84* off 48 balls at the ripe age of 37.

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