MS Dhoni never got a Man of the Match award in T20 International matches. He usually played a supporting role, letting another batsman in good form attack the bowlers. Even though he didn’t always score the most runs, his steady performances were very important for India during his amazing career.
On Saturday, the 39-year-old retired from international cricket. Dhoni played 98 T20I matches, scoring over 1,617 runs with a strike rate of 126.13. He led India to victory in the first-ever World T20 in 2007. As captain, Dhoni won 42 out of 72 T20I matches, with a win percentage of 58.33.
Here are his top five innings in T20 Internationals:
1. 46 (28) vs Sri Lanka, Chandigarh 2009
Sri Lanka scored a big total of 206 runs, losing 7 wickets. When India started their batting, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made a strong start with 58 runs in the first six overs. After Gambhir got out, Mahendra Singh Dhoni came to bat. Yuvraj Singh scored the most runs in the match and was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 60 runs. Dhoni didn’t score the highest runs, but he played an important role by staying at the crease while Sehwag and later Yuvraj scored heavily. When Dhoni got out, Sri Lanka almost lost the game.
2. 56 (36) vs England, Bengaluru 2017
This was the first time the ex-Indian captain scored fifty runs in a T20I match, which was also his highest score in this format. He played steadily while Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh attacked the English bowlers. India scored 202/6, and England only managed 127 runs because Yuzvendra Chahal took six wickets.
3. 33 (23) vs Pakistan, Ahmedabad 2012
Pakistan had India in trouble at 88 runs for 3 wickets after 12 overs. Then Dhoni came in to bat with Yuvraj. Dhoni played cautiously while Yuvraj hit several sixes. Together, they scored 97 runs off 44 balls, bringing India’s total to 192 runs for 5 wickets. Pakistan tried to chase the target but fell short by 11 runs in the end.
4. 45 (33) vs South Africa, Durban 2007
India was having a tough time at 61/4 when 20-year-old Rohit Sharma came in to bat with his captain. They scored 85 runs together, saving India from a bad spot. India kept up the good work in their bowling innings. R.P. Singh took four wickets, and Harbhajan Singh and S. Sreesanth each took two, restricting South Africa to 116/9.
5. 36 (18) vs Australia, Durban 2007
This was one of the first times people saw that Dhoni was great at finishing games. In this match, Yuvraj Singh stole the spotlight with a fantastic 70 runs from 30 balls. India seemed ready to score big, but once Yuvraj got out in the 18th over, Dhoni stepped up. He scored 21 runs from the next nine balls. In the end, India won the match by 15 runs.
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