Six instances when MS Dhoni got the better of Australian bowlers at the death

#1 79, Chennai (2017)

Dhoni and Pandya forged a superb 118-run stand

Coming in to bat when his team are in trouble and bailing them out of it is not new to India’s most successful skipper. In the first ODI against Australia, he strode out at No. 6 with India in trouble at 64/4, a score that soon became 87/5.

Dhoni, along with Hardik Pandya, started rebuilding India’s innings. Starting off slowly, Dhoni kept rotating the strike, allowing Pandya to play freely. After Pandya got out in the 41st over, having scored a brilliant 83, Dhoni took the responsibility of taking India to a respectable score.

Along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he launched a superb counter-attack on the Aussie death bowlers. Scoring a brilliant 79, Dhoni ensured India reached 283. He smartly played the entire innings: when Pandya was going great guns, he allowed him to take strike, and when the time came, he too exploded.

His knock of 79 and Pandya’s all-round show helped India take a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series.