MS Dhoni Centuries

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a former Indian captain who served the Indian men’s national cricket team for close to 15 years. He also played for Jharkhand and Bihar in domestic circuit before entering the international stage. He currently leads Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Dhoni has earned many accolades from his hardcore fans, experts and critics throughout a glittering career where he featured in 90 Tests, 350 One-Day Internationals and 98 T20 International matches for India. Among many of the laurels, Dhoni was bestowed during his playing days in the Indian colours, one of the popular ones is ‘The finisher’. It was related to his great batting skills in the lower middle order and turning the tables from crunch situations.

There are innumerable memories of Dhoni finishing matches for India in close encounters and an article might feel shorter to describe each of those fearless innings that defined the character and personality of MSD.

Dhoni aggregated 17092 runs in 535 international matches for India at an average of 44.74, including 108 fifties and 15 centuries. He is the fifth highest run-scorer for India across all formats. Dhoni has overall accumulated 16 centuries in international cricket - 10 in ODIs and six in Tests.

MS Dhoni Centuries: Tests and ODIs

ODIs

Dhoni made his first appearance in ODI cricket in December 2004 in the first ODI match against Bangladesh in Chattogram. After a string of low scores, Dhoni scored a brilliant 148 runs in 123 deliveries against Pakistan in the second ODI match in Visakhapatnam to mark his first ODI century. Six months later Dhoni recorded his career-best figures against Sri Lanka, remaining unbeaten on 183, his stupendous knock was laced with 15 boundaries and 10 sixes, at a strike rate of 126.21.

Dhoni represented the ACC Asia XI during the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup played in India. He was unbeaten on 139 against ACA Africa XI in the third ODI match in Chennai. Dhoni stitched an important 218-run partnership with then Asia team skipper Mahela Jayawardene (107) to put their side in a commanding total of 331 in the first innings.

Dhoni’s 124 not out against Australia in the second ODI in Nagpur powered India to 354/7 and they eventually won by 99 runs to level the series 1-1 at that point.

During the 2009-2010 tri-nation series involving India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Dhoni played a significant knock of 101 not out in a 296-run chase. He was involved in a 154-run stand with Virat Kohli to bail the team out of pressure.

In December 2012, Dhoni fought a lone battle against Pakistan in the first ODI in Chennai. Despite suffering cramps in the double whammy of heat and humidity, Dhoni stood tall and played a sedate knock of 113* in 125 balls to take India to respectable total of 227 although it wasn’t sufficient to win.

Just after stepping down from captaincy in early January, Dhoni purely played as a wicketkeeper and lower order batter under the leadership of Kohli. In the second ODI against England in Cuttack, India lost three wickets in clump in the early overs before the senior pair of Dhoni (134) and Yuvraj (150) revived the sinking ship through a partnership of 256 runs as India posted 381 in the first innings and went on to win by 15 runs.

List of MS Dhoni ODI Centuries

Tests

Dhoni shocked his fans after announcing retirement from Test cricket after the Boxing Day Test match between Australia and India in December 2014. Dhoni stepped down with 4876 runs in 90 Tests at 38.09 with 33 fifties and six centuries.

During India’s tour of Pakistan in 2006, Dhoni did not bat in the first Test in Lahore. He came up with an aggressive approach in the second Test in Faisalabad, belting 19 fours and four sixes to notch his first Test hundred in just 93 balls. Dhoni created a record of scoring the fastest hundred by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket and held the record for 16 more years until Rishabh Pant broke it in 89 balls against England in July 2022.

During Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 2009-10, Dhoni amassed 214 runs in three innings at an average of 107. The wicketkeeper-batter scored two hundreds in the three-match series - 110 in Ahmedabad and 100* in Mumbai - as India won 2-0.

Dhoni scored 132 in the second Test in Kolkata as India recorded four centuries in a single innings for the second time in their history.

On February 24, 2013, a swaggering MS Dhoni took the toll on Australian bowlers by pummelling 24 boundaries and six sixes in his maiden Test double-hundred (224) in the first Test of the four-match series in Chennai.

List of MS Dhoni Test Centuries

MS Dhoni hasn’t breached the three-figure mark in the Twenty20 format of the game but scored nine hundreds in first-class cricket and 17 in List A format.