MS Dhoni's top five match-winning knocks in ODIs

Dhoni (C-L) is lifted off the ground by teammate Ishant Sharma after hitting a six to seal their victory during the final of the Tri-Nation series against Sri Lanka at the Queen’s Park Oval stadium in Port of Spain on July 11, 2013. India defeated Sri Lanka by 1 wicket to win the series. (Getty Images)

MS Dhoni was not supposed to be a part of the final of the Tri-Nation tournament as the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman had suffered a hamstring injury in the first game against the West Indies.

He went through a period of recovery till the final as Virat Kohli captained the team but was there when India needed him the most. Chasing a moderate total of 202, India were well on their way with Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma putting up a tidy partnership but the game changed its face rather quickly.

There was a flurry of wickets as the middle-order slumped from 139/3 to 152-7 leaving the Indian captain to grind the last fifty runs with the tail.

This was not the first time that Dhoni propelled India to a win from trying circumstances. It is this ability of his, to soak the pressure and remain composed, that has earned him the epithet of ‘captain-cool’.

His unwavering psychological strength is the greater asset as compared to his pure muscle when he hits the ball and the testament to that is the fact that Dhoni was clearly not a 100% last night. He was not putting a lot of stress on his hamstring it seemed as he avoided those 2′s and 3′s that he picks up with great ease.

Dhoni’s statistics prove how critical he is to India’s success in the last half-a-decade. He has taken the crease 54 times in India’s 72 successful run-chases in One Day International cricket. He has remained unbeaten 33 times out of those 54 amassing 2102 runs at a dramatic Bradman-esque average of 100.09.

This is a fitting moment to roll back the years and have a look at some of his match-winning knocks for India:

Yuvraj Singh (L) waves his bat as Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R) waves a wicket after their victory over Pakistan during the third ODI against Pakistan at The Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore, 13 February 2006. (Getty Images)

5. India’s tour of Pakistan 2005/06, 3rd ODI

At the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, India were playing a critical match in the series that was tied at 1-1. Dhoni’s record against arch-rivals Pakistan was already stellar with a few sensational innings in the previous year.

Though, those runs have come when batting at number three. It was in this series that the wicket-keeper batsman began to create a reputation for himself as a finisher. Pakistan had put up a daunting total of 288 for India to chase.

India started off badly losing Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan quickly but Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar steadied the Indian ship. The little master scored a valuable knock of 95 runs but succumbed halfway through the chase.

It was left to Yuvraj Singh – the skipper’s partner in many successful run-chases – and Dhoni to steer the ship. Dhoni finished with 72 runs of only 46 balls.

India’s M.S. Dhoni (L) and Ravi Ashwin (R) of India celebrate their win during the ODI against Australia in Adelaide on February 12, 2012. (Getty Images)

4. Commonwealth Bank Series 2011/12, 4th match

Dhoni’s batting ability has been sceptically viewed when in hostile, unfamiliar conditions outside the sub-continent. This was not a knock of a massive magnitude as Dhoni contributed 44 runs but the stage at which the runs came made it very critical.

India needed 13 runs of the final over to win the match against Australia and he was once again batting alongside the tail. He smashed the third ball of the over, which was a full length delivery outside the 0ff-stump for a six over wide-long on.

Dhoni described the six as more important that the one he hit in the World Cup final in 2011.

Dhoni (L) celebrates after scoring a century as Pakistani bowler Shahid Afridi holds his head during the second ODI Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, 05 April 2005. (Getty Images)

3. Pakistan’s tour of India 2004/05, 2nd ODI

Dhoni was making his mark in international cricket at that point of time. The long-hair, the flamboyant walk, the unorthodox style of batting distinguished him early on.

However, it was this knock of 148 against Pakistan at Visakhapatnam that turned the head. India were batting first and Dhoni walked in at the crease early in the innings after Tendulkar had been run out for a score of two runs.

He dominated the bowling attack in the course of the game batting till the 42nd over of the game. India accumulated a total of over 350 runs in the game defeated Pakistan by 58 runs in that game. It was a knock drastically different from what we are used to seeing from Dhoni now.

Dhoni could have gone on to amass a lot more runs at the top-of-the-order but with the responsibility of leadership he sacrificed that personal goal to some extent and played the role of the ideal finisher instead.

Indian batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni waves his bat and helmet after he scored a century during the third one-day international match between India and Sri Lanka at the Mansingh Cricket Stadium in Jaipur 31 October 2005. (Getty Images)

2. Sri Lanka tour of India 2005/06, 3rd ODI

Later that year, Dhoni produced what remains his highest score in One Day International cricket. India were chasing a heavy total of 299 runs after Kumar Sangakkara toyed with the Indian bowling to score a magnificent century that would be eclipsed by Dhoni rather soon.

Dhoni walked out to bat at the number three position and started finding the boundary from the word go. He was especially brutal to Chaminda Vaas and Upul Chandana. He finished with a unique number – 183 – that is also the total number of runs Sourav Ganguly scored against Sri Lanka at Taunton.

Dhoni was undefeated at the end of the innings.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (L) hits a six to win against Sri Lanka as teammate Yuvraj Singh reacts during the Cricket World Cup 2011 final at The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2, 2011. (Getty Images)

1. 2011 World Cup Final

Enough has been said about this match already and yet not enough. The manner with which Dhoni took the game by the scruff of its neck in a World Cup final demonstrated enormous self-belief.

He came to the crease when the match was in the balance at 114/3 ahead of Yuvraj, who had been in particularly good form throughout the tournament. Gambhir was playing a quality innings at the other end and that meant at least he had the luxury of a partnership in this chase.

The amount of pressure that a World Cup final brings along is huge but it would have been exponentially mounted by the fact that the team was playing in front of a packed Wankhede stadium.

Dhoni has that unique ability to create a protective layer of calm around him that allows him to remain in a zone of unwavering concentration. Dhoni’s six to clinch the match and the cup was accompanied by a gaze in his eyes that has since been the visual of India’s heroic triumph.