Top 10 overseas ODI knocks by Indian captains in the history of the game

#5 MS Dhoni – 95 vs West Indies (Kingston - 2009)

When India went to West Indies in 2009, they had won four consecutive ODI bilateral series’ and they continued their good run with a win in the first ODI. In the second game, India won the toss and elected to bat first and found themselves in trouble very early.

The ‘Men in Blue’ were reduced to 7/3 in the second over when skipper MS Dhoni walked out to the middle. He started off very cautiously as the ball was swinging around. Along with Yuvraj Singh (35), he looked to steady the ship. However, wickets kept falling after a 47-run stand between the duo. India were reduced to 82/8 (in the 22nd over) and it looked like they were going to get bowled out for less than 100.

But MS Dhoni played excellently with the tail to stretch the Indian innings and take them to 188. Dhoni made 95 and was the last batsman out. His innings stood out as the other Indian batsmen failed to adjust to the bowler-friendly conditions. He first saw off the threat of the pacers (Taylor and Rampaul) who were bowling brilliantly, and then attacked in the final overs to take India to a respectable total.

Though India lost the game, Dhoni’s innings of 95 was one of his best overseas.