5 best MS Dhoni knocks in T20Is

#2 45 (33) vs South Africa (ICC World T20, Durban, 2007)

While the statistics may not reflect the significance of this innings, it surely was one that helped India knock South Africa out of the tournament and proceed to the next stage. The situation when the Dhoni came in was rather dire for India: batting first, they were on 61 for 4 in 10.3 overs against a deadly South African side in a knockout game.

Dhoni, along with Rohit Sharma, was able to string together an integral 85-run partnership. and steer India to a competitive total (at that time) of 153. This was not the characteristic Dhoni innings laden with boundaries and sixes, but instead, it showed that with leadership, he had acquired a sense of maturity. Dhoni initially focused on settling down and steadying the ship, and eventually, he was able to guide India to what would turn out to be a match-winning total.

On that day, he did what he would go on to do countless more times in his career: he bailed his team out of a sticky situation and led them to a victory.