6 instances when MS Dhoni bowled

Think of throwing the ball to Joginder Sharma in that famous T20 world cup final in 2007 or even trusting Robin Uthappa with the responsibilities during the crucial bowl-out. The greatness of Dhoni's captaincy over the years has been his ability to surprise the opposition.Always up for a bit of a gamble, MS Dhoni has surprised one and all by taking off his wicket-keeping gloves and rolling his arm over at times. And there have been times when he wove his magic even with the ball in his hand.Here are 6 occasions when MS Dhoni bowled.

#6 Champions Trophy v/s Sri Lanka, 2013

Dhoni took the wicket of Jayawardena

Seeing that the conditions were accurate for seam bowling, Dhoni brought himself on in the 24th over in the 2013 Champions Trophy semi-final against Sri Lanka. Dinesh Karthik assumed the wicket-keeping duties as Dhoni had started warming up from the previous over.

Dhoni had Mahela Jayawardena adjudged leg before wicket only for the decision to be reversed by the DRS as replays showed that he had got an inside edge on to his pad. It does seem like Dhoni has not had much luck with the DRS during bowling.

But the odd ball kept swinging and he managed to make Jayawardena look clueless and embarrassed at times. And quite predictably, the capacity crowd at Cardiff were left euphoric by Dhoni's antics.

#5 Champions League T20 game vs Yorkshire, 2012

Dhoni surprised his fans bowling against Yorkshire

With CSK already having been knocked out of the tournament, their Champions League T20 match against Yorkshire at Durban in 2012 was a bit of a dead rubber. Suresh Raina who was captaining the side in that match, much to the surprise of one and all, asked Dhoni to turn his arm over.

Dhoni bowled for two overs but got hit around the park -- he was expensive having conceded 25 runs off 2 overs. He later made amends with the bat scoring a crucial 31 and guiding his team to victory.

To throw the ball to Dhoni in a T20 match was criticised by many as a very costly mistake. But Raina must have opted for Dhoni to have a bowl keeping in mind that the match could not change CSK's fortunes by any means.

#4 1st Test vs England, Lord\'s, 2011

Dhoni got the wicket of Kevin Pietersen

Eyeballs were raised when immediately after lunch in the 1st Test at Lord's in the 2011 series, Dhoni unstrapped his pads and decided to bowl. Dhoni bowled at a decent medium pace touching 80 mph at times.

Nine balls into his spell, he thought he had his first wicket as Kevin Pietersen was adjudged caught behind by Billy Bowden. But Pietersen chose to opt for the DRS and the decision was reversed after replays suggested that Pietersen's bat had actually brushed his pad.

It was again one of those weird occasions when Dhoni surprised everyone and his move almost paid off. It is precisely this enviable ability to think out of the box that has made Dhoni a great captain.

#3 India vs New Zealand 1st Test, 2010

Dhoni bowled the day’s last over

The first Test between India and New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 2010 turned out to be a boring affair. With both the teams scoring over 400 in their first innings, the match was heading for a tame draw. Dhoni brought himself on to bowl the last over of the day.

The over turned out to be largely uneventful except a big wide down the leg-side which sped to the boundary. But Dhoni seemed to put in some effort and managed to reach speeds of 120 kmph. He even directed one delivery straight into the block hole but it was safely negotiated by Watling.

Dhoni by this time , however, had certainly become better as most of his deliveries were well directed and forced the batsmen to be circumspect. But it was the last over of the match after all and ultimately of very little consequence.

#2 Champions Trophy v/s West Indies, 2009

Dhoni took the wicket of Travis Dowlin

Dhoni bowled for the first time during ODIs when he decided to turn his arm over against the West Indies in the Champions Trophy 2009. Though he seemed to have a decent action, his radar seemed to be a bit off as he started with two long hops.

But then he produced a beauty with the ball sharply nipping back in and had Travis Dowlin's stumps shattered. Dowlin turned out to be Dhoni's first and only victim till date in ODIs.

Dhoni had brought himself on realising that the conditions were ideal for seam bowling and was instantly rewarded with Dowlin's wicket. That helped spark off a West Indian collapse soon after as they were bundled out for a paltry 129.

#1 India vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, 2006

Dhoni first bowled for the first time against Pakistan

The 2nd Test between India and Pakistan in 2006 had been a run-scoring feast with India notching up a mammoth 603 in reply to Pakistan's 588 in the first innings. Dhoni had led the charge with a blistering 148 off 153 balls.

But called upon to bowl in the 2nd innings with Pakistan having posted 446 for 3 on the board, Dhoni put on a lacklustre display. Younis Khan was clearly amused and Dhoni bowled a very poor over conceding 13 runs.

It has long been a commentators' joke that the wicket-keeper might just bowl next when nothing must has been happening and every possible option has been tried. Though Dhoni's over back in 2006 was an absolute disaster, he did go on to become better at bowling later on