MS Dhoni's birthday: 5 times he proved he was the ultimate 'Captain Cool'

MS Dhoni is celebrating his 40th birthday today. While he is no longer active in the international arena, fans will never forget how the Ranchi-born star changed Indian cricket forever.

Dhoni made his international debut in December 2004, and in September 2007, he was named the captain of the Indian T20I team. The wicketkeeper-batter led India for the first time in the ICC T20 World Cup.

Many senior players had decided against participating in the competition, but their absence did not affect Dhoni as he guided the team to the inaugural championship.

Almost 14 years have passed since that historic triumph, and now many fans consider MS Dhoni the greatest captain of all time. His ability to remain calm in tense situations separated him from the other skippers.

There have been many occasions in his career where captain Dhoni kept his cool and helped India win matches from out of nowhere.

Here's a look at five times MS Dhoni proved he was the ultimate 'Captain Cool'.

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1. MS Dhoni plays a match-winning knock in the 2011 World Cup Final

MS Dhoni was not in great touch during the 2011 World Cup. In the final match against Sri Lanka, India received a 275-run target, and the Men in Blue were 114/3 after 21.4 overs.

Dhoni surprisingly promoted himself above an in-form Yuvraj Singh. It was a high-pressure run-chase, but Dhoni kept his cool and played his natural game.

In a tournament where he hadn't scored a fifty before the summit clash, Dhoni came out to bat in a pressure situation and scored 91 runs off 79 deliveries, guiding India to the trophy.

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2. India vs. Bangladesh, 2016 T20 World Cup

Bangladesh had upset India in the 2007 50-over World Cup. They could have recorded their first T20 World Cup win over India in 2016 had MS Dhoni not remained calm in the final phase of the match.

Bangladesh needed two runs off three deliveries to win the group stage match against India. However, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah lost their wickets while trying a big shot.

The equation came down to two runs off one delivery. MS Dhoni remained calm and focused on taking the bails off at the striker's end if the batsman missed the delivery.

Hardik Pandya bowled a delivery outside off that Shuvagata Hom missed. Dhoni sprinted quickly and ran out non-striker Mustafizur Rahman as India beat Bangladesh by one run.

3. India vs. Pakistan, ICC T20 World Cup 2007

As mentioned ahead, MS Dhoni captained the Indian cricket team in the inaugural T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue faced Shoaib Malik's Pakistan team in the summit clash of the tournament.

India scored 157 runs in their first innings. Chasing 158 to win, Pakistan brought the equation down to 13 off six. MS Dhoni surprisingly handed the ball to inexperienced medium-pacer Joginder Sharma.

He started off with a wide delivery on the offside, but Dhoni kept his calm and had a word with Joginder before the next ball. Joginder stuck to his plans and did not come under pressure even after getting hit for a six.

He eventually picked up Misbah's wicket with a full delivery outside off as India captured the T20 World Cup trophy.

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4. India vs. England, ICC Champions Trophy 2013 Final

Two years after winning the Cricket World Cup on home soil, MS Dhoni's Indian team qualified for the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Home side England were to face India in the summit clash.

Multiple rain interruptions compelled the organizers to reduce the match to 20-overs-a-side. India managed 129 runs in their 20 overs, and it seemed England would win comfortably as they were 102/4 after 17 overs.

Surprisingly, MS Dhoni decided to bring Ishant Sharma, who had been a little expensive that day, back into the attack for the 18th over. Eoin Morgan smashed him for a six on the second ball, but Sharma came back in style, taking two wickets in two balls.

Dhoni gave the last two overs to spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. Both bowlers delivered the goods as India restricted England to 124/8 in 20 overs.

Once again, Dhoni's ability to stay calm in tense situations came into the limelight as he used his bowlers to perfection and helped India win.

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5. MS Dhoni's mind-boggling performance against Sri Lanka in 2013 Tri-series Final

MS Dhoni

Soon after the ICC Champions Trophy, India toured West Indies for a tri-series with the hosts and Sri Lanka. India lost both of its opening matches, but they managed to top the table and qualify for the final.

Sri Lanka and India played in the final at Port of Spain. The Islanders could only score 201 runs in the first innings. However, they made life difficult for the Men in Blue by reducing them to 167/8 in 41.5 overs.

Captain MS Dhoni was in the middle then, along with Vinay Kumar. Ishant Sharma was the only other batsman left.

It looked like Sri Lanka would run away with a victory, but Dhoni took the chase to the final over and delivered the knockout punch in style.

Angelo Mathews dismissed Vinay in the 47th over, when India still needed 20 runs. Dhoni and Ishant Sharma batted cautiously in the 48th and the 49th over, taking the equation to 15 off six deliveries.

Shaminda Eranga came in to bowl the final over, and Dhoni missed the first ball. However, he remained calm and backed himself. The Indian skipper smacked two sixes and a four off the next three deliveries to finish off the match with two balls remaining.

MS Dhoni was rightfully adjudged the Player of the Match as he denied Sri Lanka a win in the final once again.