MS Dhoni never received a Man of the Match award in T20 International matches. His role usually involved supporting one end while another batsman in good form attacked the bowlers. Even though he didn’t always score the most runs, his steady performances were vital for India on many occasions throughout his remarkable career.
On Saturday, the 39-year-old retired from international cricket. Dhoni played 98 T20I matches, scoring more than 1,617 runs with a strike rate of 126.13. He famously led India to victory in the first-ever World T20 in 2007. As captain, Dhoni achieved a win percentage of 58.33 in T20Is, winning 42 out of 72 matches.
Here are his top five innings in T20 Internationals:
1. 46 (28) vs Sri Lanka, Chandigarh 2009
Sri Lanka scored a very high 206 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their innings. When India started their batting, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made a strong beginning by scoring 58 runs in the first six overs. After Gambhir got out, Mahendra Singh Dhoni came in to bat. In this match, Yuvraj Singh ended up scoring the most runs and was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 60 runs. Dhoni did not score the highest runs in the match, but he played a crucial role by holding one end while Sehwag and later Yuvraj scored heavily. When Dhoni got out, Sri Lanka almost lost the game.
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2. 56 (36) vs England, Bengaluru 2017
This was the first time the ex-Indian captain scored fifty runs in a T20I match, which was also his highest score ever in this format. He played steadily while Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh attacked the English bowlers. India scored 202/6, and then England only managed 127 runs, mainly because Yuzvendra Chahal took six wickets.
3. 33 (23) vs Pakistan, Ahmedabad 2012
Pakistan had India struggling at 88 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 12 overs. Then, Dhoni came to bat with Yuvraj. Dhoni played carefully while Yuvraj hit many sixes. They together scored 97 runs in 44 balls, boosting India’s score to 192 runs for 5 wickets. Pakistan tried to chase this but fell short by 11 runs in the end.
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4. 45 (33) vs South Africa, Durban 2007
India were struggling at 61/4 when 20-year-old Rohit Sharma started batting with his captain. Together, they added 85 runs, rescuing India from a difficult situation. India carried this momentum into their bowling innings. R.P. Singh took four wickets, while Harbhajan Singh and S. Sreesanth each took two, limiting South Africa to 116/9.
5. 36 (18) vs Australia, Durban 2007
This was one of the first signs that Dhoni was good at finishing the game well. But in this match, Yuvraj Singh’s amazing score of 70 runs from 30 balls grabbed everyone’s attention. India looked set to score a lot of runs, but after Yuvraj got out in the 18th over, Dhoni took charge. He scored 21 runs from the next nine balls he faced. In the end, India won the match by 15 runs.
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