How much do you know of MS Dhoni?

Who is MS Dhoni? Why should you know him?

In every sports, there comes a legend once in a decade who defines their country and changes the game for good. Well, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, commonly known as MS Dhoni is one of those. He is Leoel Messi with his unpredictable and unique talent, he is Usain Bolt with his furious running speed between the wickets, he is Novak Djokovic who never looses his cool and always stays ahead of the game and he is a legend of cricket you can doubt you will see like him ever again!

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His Story

Born on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar, India, MSD ( Mahendra Singh Dhoni) was a natual sports person. During his school days, Dhoni used to play badminton and football. He was very good at football and infact was the goalkeeper of his football team. Once, he was sent by his football coach to play cricket for a local cricket club. It was in this match that he impressed everyone with his wicket-keeping skills which resulted in getting him a regular post of the wicket keeper at the Commando Cricket Club. From 2001 to 2003, he even worked as a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at the Kharagpur Railway Station which he had to leave as it was coming in the way of his dreams. He is married to

Before Dhoni

In India, cricket is not just a sport, it's a religion which is deeply rooted in every Indian's heart. The Indian cricket team was always in capable hands of captains like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and even Sachin Tendulkar (God of cricket). The team heavily depended on it's experienced batsmen who would contribute tons of runs in every series they played but cricket is not all about how many runs you make, it is also about how many runs you save. Its a game in which one would need to outperform in every aspect on the field. It's also a game which favors the team who has all rounders in the squad and last but not the least, how many wicket taking bowlers you have. India has been blessed with spinners in the form of players like Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh but when it came to fast arm bowlers India failed to produce wicket taking deliveries and hence, the matches. Dhoni had an idea to include fresh, determined and athletic youngsters over more experienced slow on field batsmen. He was heavily criticized for his approach over the game by fans of cricket and board members but all played off quite well which changed the game of cricket in India.

A team redefined image source

2007 T20 World Cup

India had not lifted a World Cup since 1983. MS Dhoni was chosen to lead India in first ever T20 World cup in 2007 contested in South Africa. Twelve teams took part in the championship in the 13 day tournament. India went into the tournament as an underdog but outperformed to everybody's surprise but she still had to beat arch rivals Pakistan in the finals. Matches between the two countries are always intense with pressures mounting beyond skies. Dhoni was designated the title of "Captain Cool" after the end of the match for the way he not once lost his cool. India and Pakistan have had shared a bloody history with at least major wars and cease fire situations that happen every now and then at the border shared by the two countries.

The finals was no less than a battle. On the match day at the Wonderes Stadium at Johannesburg, India won the toss and opted to bat first. The Indians failed to put up a show at the score card with only Gautam Gambhir scoring 75 which totaled the team's score to a 157/5, hardly a competitive one in an ordinary match. But all hope was not lost, India would rely on Dhoni's captaincy and his wisdom. He took nail bitting decisions with overs from Sreesanth and Harbajhan which swung the game in Pakistan's favor. It all went to the final over bowled by Jognider Sharma (another bold move by MSD) where Pakistan needed 13 off 6 balls. The first ball was played for a run which allowed Misbah-ul-haq the set batsmen who hit Joginder Sharma for a 6 on the very next ball. Now 6 from 4, Pakistan were 145/9, Dhoni walked up to Joginder, one cannot say for sure what he asked of him but the very next ball was pitched wide to Misbah, he tried to pull off a scoop, the ball was in the air, millions of eyes watching it, the ball was caught by Sreesanth standing on the leg slip. India had won the match and thereby lifted the World Cup after 26 years.

Here are the highlights of the match;

2011 World Cup

After the early exit in the 2007 World Cup (50 over format), the Indian cricket team was heavily criticized. The Indian cricket fans were so agonized, they even tried to burn Dhoni's house in Ranchi, his hometown. Dhoni and the boys had not forgotten the bitter taste of defeat and so the preparations were topnotch and over committed on the field and off the field. The tournament was hosted by India herself and Dhoni led her to victories over Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and West Indies qualifying over the group stages. And when India beat Australia in quarter finals and arch rivals Pakistan in semis, the hope for holding another cup had emerged in the heart of every Indian. Dhoni played an unbeaten 91* run innings and finished off the game in style with a 6 against Sri Lanka in the finals at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. And the boys had done it again and all was credited to the consistent performance and wisdom of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Here are the highlights of the final;

Since then, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has come a long way in cricket. His sterling performances with the bat have rescued India from many a tight situations. In his illustrious career, Dhoni has played 90 Tests scoring 4876 runs with his highest being 224 against Australia at Chennai in 2013. His amazing statistics behind the stumps include 256 catches and 38 stumpings.

In the ODI scenario, Dhoni has so far played 265 matches scoring 8620 runs, with his highest being a staggering 183 not-out against Sri Lanka, in Jaipur, 2005-06. His ODI wicket-keeping statistics include 246 catches and 85 stumpings. Dhoni made his ICC Cricket World Cup debut in 2007 and played only three matches due to India’s early exit. India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, among others, under his captainship.

He is also the captain of the Chennai Super Kings Team in IPL (Indian Premier League). Under his captaincy, the team has won two IPL titles and also the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010.

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Some of his Other Numerous Achievements are:

• His 10 sixes in an innings are the sixth highest in ODI cricket.
• He broke the record of Adam Gilchrist for the highest score made by a wicket keeper by scoring 183 runs.
• He holds the record of maximum dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper in an innings.
• India reached the highest test score of 726-9, under his captaincy.
• He is the only ODI captain to have played at number seven and scored a century. He did it in December 2012 while playing against Pakistan.
• He is the first Indian wicketkeeper to reach 4000 tests runs.

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