5 best Test innings by MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, everything about this man is unconventional. Right from his hairstyle when he burst onto the international scene to his style of batting, there is nothing predictable about Dhoni. His style of captaincy revolves around throwing surprises time & again and leaving the opposition wondering about it.In the same vein, the Indian captain surprised the cricketing world at the end of the third Test against Australia by announcing his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. While he was never as effective a batsman in Tests as he is in limited-overs cricket, he will be dearly missed for the quick runs he used to get down the order. Often, he used to counter-attack the opposition bowlers by playing his natural game and going for his shots.Now that he has hung up his boots from Test cricket, let’s take a look at 5 of the best Test innings that Dhoni played:

#5 76* vs England, Lord\'s, 2007

“Cometh the hour, Cometh the man.”

The above quote aptly summarises Dhoni’s effort in this innings versus England. In the process, he also gave a good account of himself as a Test batsman as he held the fort in really testing conditions at the “Mecca of Cricket”. Yes, there was the weather factor that really came to his and the Indian team’s rescue. However, Dhoni deserves a lot of credit for the way he fought it out and helped India salvage a draw.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, England were bowled out for 298 courtesy of a very good team effort by the Indian bowlers. In reply, India were bundled out for 201 as they were blown away by some vintage swing bowling from James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom. RP Singh picked up a five-for in the second innings as the hosts managed to score 282, courtesy of Kevin Pietersen’s brilliant innings of 134.

With a target of 380 runs, a win was always going to be difficult for the Indian batsmen. On the fifth day, however, India were staring down the barrel as the score read 145/5 with a good 80 odd overs to go in the day. At this juncture, MSD walked out to bat with VVS Laxman for company. The duo added a useful 86 runs for the 6th wicket. They consumed 30 odd overs for the same as it seemed very clear that the Indians were going for a draw keeping the weather in mind. With the tailenders, Dhoni endured some tense moments as he batted for around 20 overs in conditions where the light was fading.

In the end, the weather came to the Indian team’s rescue as the game ended in a draw with Dhoni remaining unbeaten on 76 off 159 balls. The draw was a good result for the Indian team as they won the next Test and drew the third, thereby claiming a famous 1-0 series win over the hosts.

#4 99 vs England, Nagpur, 2012

If there ever had to be an innings that epitomises Dhoni’s maturity as a batsman, it is this one. In what was the longest innings of his Test career in terms of balls faced (it was later bettered during the double hundred against Australia), the Indian skipper proved that he can effectively mould his game as per the situation of the match. Though the game ended in a draw and India lost the series, this innings strengthened MSD’s batting credentials.

India came into this game trailing 1-2 in the series. It meant that this was a must-win game for the Indians in order to avoid a first home Test series loss in 8 years. Thanks to some measured bowling by the Indian bowlers, the Poms were dismissed for 330 runs in 145.5 overs. In reply, the Indian batting faltered once again as they were in complete disarray at 71/4. Another defeat seemed on the cards when ‘Captain Cool’ walked out to the centre.

Realising that any mistake on his part would cost his team dearly, Dhoni played an innings of extreme maturity as he added 198 runs for the fifth wicket with Virat Kohli. His approach was in stark contrast to his usual style of batting. He played every ball on its merit and scored a solid 99 runs from 246 balls. Only 38 of these runs came from boundaries. More often than not, he was just looking to work the ball in the gaps and accumulate the ones and twos on offer. The Indian skipper, though, missed out on a well-deserved century when he was run-out on 99 by his English counterpart, Alastair Cook.

In the end, India fell short of the English first innings total by four runs. Thereafter, the English batsmen batted India out of the game and the match ended in a tame draw. However, fans will surely remember this uncharacteristic knock from MSD which helped India salvage some pride.

#3 148 vs Pakistan at Faisalabad, 2nd Test, 2005-06

After catching the eye of the cricketing world with some blazing knocks in the ODI format, Dhoni proved that he can be strikingly effective in Tests too. He smashed 148 runs off just 153 balls at an excellent strike rate of 96.73. One also needs to laud this innings for the fact that it came against a strong Pakistan bowling attack consisting of the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq.

Pakistan posted a massive total of 588 in their first innings, courtesy of hundreds from skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and Afridi. Though Rahul Dravid scored an enterprising century, India were in trouble at 281/5 as they trailed their arch-rivals by a good 307 runs. That was when Dhoni started counter-attacking the Pakistan bowlers. Without getting intimidated by the task at hand, the Indian wicketkeeper played his natural game.

Out of the 148 runs he scored, 100 runs came by way of boundaries alone. He was ably supported by Irfan Pathan, who played the waiting game and allowed MSD to go after the bowling.

In the end, India overhauled Pakistan’s total by 15 runs. The match, however, ended in a draw as Pakistan went on to score 490 runs in their second innings. However, courtesy of Dhoni’s innings, India staved off a certain defeat at the hands of their neighbours.

#2 132* vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2010

Team India, which had been crowned the No.1 Test team in the world just weeks before this series, came into this Test trailing 0-1 in the series, having slumped to an innings defeat in the first Test at Nagpur. They were consequently in danger of losing their top ICC ranking.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Proteas were looking good for a big total as their score read 218/1. However, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh turned things around as they picked up 7 wickets between them and helped skittle out the visitors for a sub-par score of 296. Sehwag effectively led India’s charge as India raced to 331/1 in a little over 70 overs, with the Delhi dasher himself scoring 165 runs. The visitors, however, clawed their way back into the game as they picked up 5 quick wickets and reduced India to 384/6.

When the Indian skipper walked out to the centre, India were in the lead by 88 runs and it was imperative to build on it for India to win the game and level the series. Moreover, he and Laxman were the last recognised batting pair. The duo then put on an unbeaten partnership of 259 runs as India took a huge lead of 347 runs over South Africa.

Dhoni contributed 132 of these runs, at a healthy strike rate of 70.58. Though he took a little bit of time to get going, he launched a brutal attack on the South African bowlers once he got his eye in. His quick-fire innings gave the Indian bowlers plenty of time to bundle out the South Africans in the second innings.

As expected, the Indian spinners made the most out of the crumbling Eden Gardens wicket as the Proteas were dismissed for 290 in their second innings. The Indian won the game by an innings and 57 runs and also squared the two-match series 1-1.

#1 224 vs Australia, Chennai, 2013

This is quite easily MS Dhoni’s best Test knock ever, a perfect example of how he led his team from the front when it was most needed. It also happens to be his only double century in Test cricket. What is really commendable about this innings is that he reached his double century in less a day, two-and-a-half sessions to be precise.

After having won the toss, Michael Clarke elected to bat first on a typically dry and dusty Chepauk wicket. Riding on Clarke’s century and half-centuries from David Warner and debutant Moises Henriques, the Aussies posted a decent total of 380 in their first innings. When Dhoni walked into bat at the fall of Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket, India’s score read 196/4, as the hosts were a good 184 runs behind the visitors. He was then involved in a crucial 128-run partnership with Virat Kohli as India inched closer to Australia’s total. However, wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter as India’s score read 406/8, barely 26 runs ahead of the Aussies.

Knowing that Bhuvneshwar Kumar was playing his maiden Test and that the Aussies would go hard after him, Dhoni farmed the strike during his partnership with the debutant. He was also ruthless in dispatching the bad balls as he stitched together a crucial 140-run partnership with Bhuvneshwar. By the time the Indian skipper was dismissed, India had already taken a healthy 166-run lead over the Aussies. In the end, India were bowled out for 572, and it was Dhoni’s blazing knock of 224 off just 265 balls that set the game up beautifully for India.

In the second innings, the Aussies succumbed to the Indian spinners as they were bundled out for 241. Needing just 50 runs to win, India achieved the target with ease and romped home by a margin of 8 wickets. The Man of the Match award, quite deservingly, went to MSD on his adopted home ground – Chepauk, Chennai.