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MS Dhoni's explosive and unorthodox batting style has seen a lot of development over the course of his career.
Starting as a top-order batsman, Dhoni was later pulled down to the middle-order to act as a floater, and give a strong finish to the innings. He has been very successful in both these roles, and despite batting in the middle-order for most of his career, he is up there among the highest run-getters in world cricket.
MS Dhoni has earned the nickname "Captain Cool" due to his uncanny ability to lead from the front and finish games under pressure. Let us look at five instances where Dhoni indeed held his nerve to see his national side home in ODIs.
5. 183* vs Sri Lanka- Jaipur (2005)
A target of 300 is considered a fairly routine chase nowadays, but back in 2005, the score of 299 which India had to chase was a daunting task.
Sri Lanka, on the back of Kumar Sangakkara's unbeaten 138 and Mahela Jayawardene's run-a-ball 71, posted 298 on the board. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium was moved into silence when Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in no sooner than 5 balls.
MS Dhoni, who was still in his first year of international cricket, walked in to accompany Virender Sehwag. He took charge from the onset of the chase, starting with a huge six over covers off Dilhara Fernando's bowling.
Even after Sehwag's dismissal, he kept up his aggression and reached his century in just 85 balls. Celebrating his century by portraying his bat as an assault rifle, Dhoni kept the required run rate in check, with minimal contribution from those around him.
He finished off the game very comfortably, with 4 overs left. Plus, he finished in typical MS Dhoni fashion, with a huge six over deep mid-wicket.
4. The Tri-Nations Cup finish- Port of Spain (2013)
India and Sri Lanka were in the final of the Tri-Nations Cup, which West Indies was hosting in 2013. India were chasing a simple 202 for victory, and when Dhoni walked in to bat, 31 overs had gone by and India were 4 down.
The Sri Lankans then ran through India's lower middle-order. Jadeja, Ashwin, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were all trapped LBW due to the ball staying low off the surface. Vinay Kumar threw his wicket away in an attempt to go for a big hit.
The equation at one stage was 20 off 23 for India, but now, Ishant Sharma, the number 11 batsman, was at the crease. Dhoni kept him away from strike as much as possible, even if it meant playing dot balls. Dhoni played 10 balls that yielded just 3 runs, and going into the last over, the equation was 15 off 6.
The last over was given to Shaminda Eranga, who had bowled 9 overs for 34 runs while picking up 2 wickets. Dhoni swung and missed on the first ball. The second one went soaring high straight back past the bowler for six. The third ball was slapped for a boundary to deep point. 5 runs were now needed off 3 balls, but Dhoni needed just one, sending the cherry flying between cover and extra-cover for a six.
Dhoni finished the game with 2 balls to spare with a number 11 batting alongside him, and had scored an unbeaten 45.
3. The Yuvraj-Dhoni partnership- Lahore (2006)
India were chasing in excess of 280 against Pakistan in 2006 at Lahore. The five match ODI series was poised at 1-1, and India were reduced to 12-2, owing to Mohammed Asif and the pitch both playing tricks.
At one end, Rahul Dravid was looking like an amateur batsman, while at the other end, Sachin Tendulkar understood that India should avoid attacking early. He approached the game with perhaps more caution than was required, and left every ball of Asif's 3rd over except for one.
Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh then carried the run-chase, following Dravid's run-out in the 18th over. Tendulkar again fell in the nervous 90s, leaving India at 4-189, while Kaif departed for a duck. The score was at 190-5 with Yuvraj Singh batting at the crease.
India still had to chase about 100 runs in the remaining 15-odd overs. In came MS Dhoni, and he blocked a few deliveries, before taking the chase by the scruff of its neck. Balls began to disappear to all parts of the boundary. He reached his 50 in a mere 35 balls, and ended with 72 off 46. The last 22 runs were scored at a strike rate of 200, and India won the game with 14 balls to spare.
Yuvraj and Dhoni had an unbeaten 102 partnership for the 6th wicket. Yuvraj was set at the crease when Dhoni came in, but he contributed only 26 of those runs.
Yuvraj fought with his 79*, and Sachin Tendulkar's breezy 95 was very important for India to weather the early storms, but Dhoni's blitzkrieg 72* finished what the others started.
2. That six at the Adelaide Oval- CB Series (2012)
The straight boundary at the Adelaide Oval is the longest in Australia, and one of the longest in the world. It spans 190m from end to end, making it a tremendous feat for any batsman to score a six down the ground.
While chasing 270 for a victory in the CB Series against Australia in 2012, India found themselves needing 17 runs off the last two overs. Xavier Doherty kept things neat and tidy for the Kangaroos, and Jadeja and Dhoni could both get only 4 runs from his first three balls.
Jadeja attempted to go big on the next ball and picked out Ricky Ponting in the deep. The last two balls from Doherty yielded no runs, and more importantly, Dhoni was kept away from the strike for the last over.
13 off 6 were required, with Clint McKay to bowl, and Ashwin and MS Dhoni were at the crease. All the men in the commentary box wondered the same thing. Had MS Dhoni, who was on 33 off 55 balls, left it too late?
On the very first ball, Ashwin bizarrely exposed his stumps in an attempt to play a ramp shot. A dot ball ensued, and this further intensified the doubts as to whether Dhoni should have gone for the win while he had the chance. Ashwin managed to get the ball outside the 30-yard-circle on the 2nd ball. He was eager to go for the 2nd run, but Dhoni obviously refused.
The 3rd ball of the over shocked everyone at the ground, especially those in the commentary box. The ball was pitched up, a little inside the wide-line from McKay, and Dhoni smoked the ball with a full swing of his bat. He cleared the massive straight boundary at Adelaide with ease- a 112 metre six, up and over the long-on boundary.
The remaining six runs were easily gathered off just a single delivery, due to a no-ball for height being called on the 4th ball. India won with 2 balls remaining, and it was never too late for the Indian captain. MS Dhoni knew exactly when to roll the dice.
1. Dhoni finishes off in style- World Cup Final (2011)
The 28-year long wait for India to win a World Cup brought them to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, to rectify their mistakes which stretched back 8 years. Australia weren't in the finals for the first time in 12 years- it was the hosts India and Sri Lanka.
After Zaheer's magical first spell, Jayawardene's gritty century and Perera's brutal 22 from 9 balls got Sri Lanka to 276 off 50 overs. The task was simple - if India wanted to win, they would need nothing more than the highest successful run-chase in World Cup final history.
Things got off to as bad a start as possible - Lasith Malinga trapping Sehwag LBW in the 2nd ball of the innings. The nation went into stunned silence as Sachin Tendulkar feathered a ball to the keeper, leaving India at 31-2. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir steadied the ship to get India over the 100 run mark, before the Dilshan pulled off a blinder to dismiss Kohli.
Everybody expected the in-form Yuvraj Singh, but the skipper had rolled up his sleeves on the big stage. Putting on a steady partnership with Gautam Gambhir who was later dismissed on 97, Dhoni anchored the Indian run-chase, later joined by Yuvraj Singh.
India needed just 4 runs off 11 balls. MS Dhoni was on strike against Nuwan Kulasekara, and we know what followed - "Dhoni finishes off in style!"
The biggest stage of world cricket had witnessed yet another game-winning six from the master of the run-chase. For MS Dhoni, his 91* was just another chapter in his big book of finishing, but definitely the most iconic chapter.
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