Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni: Five Mind-Blowing coincidences

Two of India’s most loved cricketing sons on the field, if Sachin was an undisputed national hero until 2000s, then Dhoni was the nation’s flag-bearer in the post-millennium era. If Tendulkar gave all his fans a ray of hope to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat then Dhoni was the Messiah to pull the team out of the hole on most occasions.

A generation that separates the two cricketing giants, both of them have equal importance in the Indian cricket history and shared success in their own prime times at the highest level.

It was Sachin in 2007, who believed that the flashy-looking though determined youngster in Dhoni was ready to take the team’s responsibility at the world stage. And boy he did it in style. In the years to follow, Dhoni was the most successful Indian skipper across formats, with his side reaching at the cliff of ICC Test rankings in 2009.

Let’s take a road down the memory lane of what connected the two special gentlemen in their special ways:

#1 Love for April 15 and February 24 for the two greats

The two dates hold special significance in the lives of these two Indian greats. On April 15, in 2011, Sachin’s highest score of 100* was his only hundred in IPL against Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK). While on the same date, 7 years later, Dhoni registered his highest score of 79* in IPL against Kings XI Punjab. And to everyone’s amaze, both came in the losing cause for their respective teams.

On 24 February, in 2010, Master Blaster scored his highest ODI score of 200* against South Africa in Gwalior, while, three years later, on the same day Dhoni scored his highest Test score of 224* against Australia in Chennai. This time, both the knocks came in for India’s winning cause.

#2 Career milestones over the years

Over the years, Sachin and Dhoni have shared quite a lot of numbers in their careers. Be it reaching the landmark figure of runs or scoring 50s or 100s, both of them share certain coincidences in their exploits on the field. If Master reached to his 7000 ODI runs in 189 innings, so did MS Dhoni against Pakistan in 2012. They made their T20I debut in the same match.

Their love for Australia resonated as they scored their 100th International fifty against the Aussies. While Dhoni enjoyed six centuries during his tenure as skipper, so did Sachin in his short span as India skipper. Both of them also smashed their first Test fifty in their 2nd game. If Dhoni got out to 99 against England in Tests then Sachin fell in ODIs at the same score.

#3 Scored a duck on their ODI debut

India’s most renowned ODI batting talent, Sachin Tendulkar began his career in white-ball cricket in most peculiar fashions. The Master Blaster, who made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1989, was out for a duck in his very first ODI appearance for India. However, in the next 24 years, he went on to become India’s most reliable ODI batsman to have ever embraced the game.

On the similar lines, Sachin’s last ODI Skipper, MS Dhoni, whose first burst on to the scene, was perceived as a hard-hitting batsman. But even India’s best ODI finisher couldn’t start his career on a merry note as he secured a duck against Bangladesh in 2004. It was only in his fifth ODI that Dhoni scored his maiden ODI century against Pakistan at Vizag in 2005.

#4 IPL draws common lines between the two Indian legends

IPL has formed an integral part in the career of any Indian cricketer these days. It is usually a carnival for the major course of Indian summer. Even the greats, who refused to play T20 cricket during its inception, were buoyed by the success of the league in India. Sachin, playing for Mumbai Indians and Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings, shared a few commonalities during the course of the league.

Captaining their respective sides, both of them won their first 3 games as skipper. It is quite interesting to note that when Sachin scored his maiden IPL fifty, he registered a score of 65 runs and so did Dhoni while playing for the men in yellow. The game has grown by leaps and bounds in the years gone by and can be rated as one of the most successful products launched in any sport.

#5 Dhoni witnessed glory from the best seat in town

Dhoni has been the among the few most fortunate Indian cricketers over the years. The former skipper enjoyed most success not only at the helm of the affairs but even as he witnessed glory from the best seat in town, on quite a many occasion in his career. In 2010, Sachin broke the world record for highest score in ODI cricket by scoring a mammoth 200 against South Africa.

Dhoni witnessed the magical moment from as close as the other end at the Non-striker. Not only this, in the same year, Sachin scored two more double hundreds across formats and again Dhoni was at the non-striker end in both those innings as well. It couldn’t be a mere coincidence that the leader of the side gets the best view to witness glory from such a close.