10 best innings played by Mahendra Singh Dhoni

"I would go to war with MS Dhoni by my side"

- Gary Kirsten

This quote epitomizes the man and his significance to Indian cricket. The game has seen brilliant batsmen, exceptional leaders and consistent finishers. A combination of all those three aspects made Mahendra Singh Dhoni cricket's most valuable player. Dhoni has donned the hats of various roles in his career and conquered them with calmness and precision.

Arguably India's greatest captain of all time, world's best finisher and one of the hardest hitters of a cricket ball, MS Dhoni is in a league of his own. His explosive batting bailed India out of trouble for years now whereas his mature head guided India to numerous accolades. In this segment, we will look at Captain Cool - MS Dhoni's 10 best innings of all time to visit a path down the memory lane and revisit some of Dhoni specials:

---

#10 72* vs Pakistan, Lahore, 2006

Dhoni with one of his fan

India's tour of Pakistan in 2005/06 can be said as a breakthrough series for MS Dhoni as a batsman and as a successful chaser. Chasing 289 at the Gaddafi Stadium is never an easy task with the Blues reeling at 190 for 5 at one stage after 35 overs. The match rested on the shoulders of Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh to guide home.

Dhoni was at his destructive best in that game as he completed his half-century in just 35 balls. An expert partnership between the two meant India chase down the total with 14 balls to spare. MS scored 72 from 46 balls which included 13 fours.

This match is best remembered for its post-match press conference where the then Pakistan president Parvez Musharraf praised Dhoni for his brilliant batting and also advised him to keep his famous long locks.

#9 76* vs England, Lord's, 2007

The former Indian captain has not played many iconic Test innings but the one against England at the Lord's stand out as one of his most crucial knocks in this format. India were given a target of 380 to win the test match. On the final gloomy day of the test match, India were looking down the barrel at 180/5 with 80 overs to go.

MS Dhoni walked out to bat with VVS Laxman at the other end. The duo managed a sixth-wicket stand of 86 runs and played out close to 30 overs. In testing conditions after lunch, Dhoni saw out some 20 overs with tailenders with India playing for a draw becoming clearer with each passing over.

Dhoni and the weather came to India's rescue as the last session of the test match was abandoned and India drew a test from the clutches of defeat. India won the next test and won a famous series in England with Dhoni's knock being the catalyst for a turn in India's fortunes.

#8 224 vs Australia, Chennai, 2013

Dhoni made a habit of leading the team from the front and the Chennai test against the mighty Aussies was another glorious example of this trait. Australia posted 380 on a dry Chepauk wicket with India needing a big total in reply.

India was at 196/4 when Dhoni took guard. First, a 128 run stand with Virat Kohli and then a brilliant 140 run partnership with debutante Bhuvaneshwar Kumar set the ball rolling for India.

Dhoni's blazing knock despite wickets falling at the other end was commendable. He scored 224 runs from 265 balls which included 24 fours and 6 sixes. It turned out to be a match-winning knock from Dhoni as India registered a famous eight wicket Test win.

Individually, this was Dhoni's highest ever test score and the first double hundred from an Indian wicketkeeper. This 224 run knock also happened to be the highest score ever by an Indian captain in Tests.

#7 64* vs Kings XI Punjab, Vizag, 2017

Dhoni scored 23 in the last over to guide RPS home (BCCI)

The last edition of the IPL saw MS Dhoni playing his vintage game against the Kings at Vizag. It was an average tournament for MS with the bat but on that day, Dhoni rolled back the years to hand RPS a famous win. Dhoni came to bat when Pune needed 95 off 51 balls. Wickets at regular intervals meant Pune never got the opportunity to dominate the bowlers.

Last over was given to Axar Patel with Pune needing 23 from six deliveries. Dhoni was on strike and used all his might against the left-arm spinner to guide his IPL team home. Two sixes on the last two balls gave Pune an unlikely win and added another chapter in Dhoni's never-ending folklore.

Axar's last over - 0, 1wd, 6, 0, 4, 6, 6.

#6 44* vs Australia, Adelaide, 2012

This was an inning where MS Dhoni struggled at the start of his inning with Suresh Raina, his partner at the other end looking fluent against the Aussie attack. India were chasing 270 with Gautam Gambhir giving India a solid start.

After the dismissal of Raina, the onus was on Dhoni to guide the Blues home. 13 were needed off the last over with Ravi Ashwin on strike against Clint McKay.

Ashwin managed just one run from the first two balls with the equation now being 12 from 4 balls. Dhoni was on strike, McKay pitched it on a good length and what followed was the most iconic six ever hit at the Adelaide Oval.

The ball sailed over long on as India then scored their remaining runs with ease and scripted another fine run chase with Dhoni at the helm.

#5 113* vs Pakistan, Chennai, 2012

One of Dhoni's most mature innings

This is the only knock from Dhoni in this list which featured in a losing cause. In the first match of the series, India were asked to bat at Chennai. They were reduced to 29/5 when Dhoni arrived at the crease.

The captain played a mature innings, making sure that India completed their 50 over quota.

An inning of 113 not out from 125 balls had seven fours and three sixes in them. A 75 run partnership with Suresh Raina and then a 125 run stand with Ravi Ashwin led India to a respectable total of 227/6. India lost by four wickets but Dhoni's innings that day proved his expertise to build an entire team's batting effort on his own.

#4 45* vs Sri Lanka, Port of Spain, 2013

In a tri-series final against Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval, India were chasing 202. They were sailing with ease at one stage with the scoreboard reading 139/3 in 32 overs.

But on a tough track, wickets fell one after the other with Rangana Herath picking up 4 wickets. India, from a commanding position, were now in need of 17 runs from 2 overs with Ishant Sharma, the last Indian batsman on the crease with MS Dhoni.

Fortunately for India, Sharma survived the penultimate over with India now needing 15 from the last six balls. Shaminda Eranga was the Sri Lankan bowler with Dhoni on strike. Dhoni missed the first ball and then as always, finished the game with a bang.

The second one went for a six with the next two balls going for two fours. Dhoni just smiled after taking India over the finishing line and winning yet another trophy.

#3 183* vs Sri Lanka, Jaipur, 2005

This humongous score against the Lankans was the knock which made Dhoni arrive on the cricketing stage. He was considered already as a dangerous batsman but this inning at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium made him one of the most feared batsmen in the world.

Chasing 299, India's inning started in the worst possible way with Sachin Tendulkar departing in the first over. In a surprising decision by Ganguly and the team management, MS Dhoni was sent in to bat at number three.

What followed was absolute carnage of the highest order! No bowler was spared by the hard hitting of Dhoni. He scored a mammoth 183 runs off 145 deliveries and got India home with four overs to spare. His innings included 15 fours and 11 huge sixes.

This was a run chase unheard of by the Indians with Dhoni's master class being noticed by the entire world. His exploits in that game can be best expressed by the statistic that after him, the next highest score by an Indian batsman in that game was 39.

#2 54*, Kings XI Punjab, Dharamsala, 2010

This match was one of the rare occasions where MS Dhoni let go of his calm and cool tag and celebrated wildly after guiding CSK home. In a do or die game for the Super Kings at Dharamsala, the Punjab side gave Dhoni's men a tough target of 192. The captain came after 10 overs when CSK needed another 104 runs.

MS was batting with a purpose that day as he scored 54 from 29 balls which included five fours and two sixes. The last 47 runs in the chase came in just 18 balls with Irfan Pathan conceding 18 in the last over of the match.

His first four balls (2,4,6,6) ended the match with MS Dhoni two humongous sixes with one of them crossing the boundaries of the stadium. Dhoni celebrated by punching his helmet as Pathan was ripped apart by the Dhoni storm.

This was easily MS Dhoni's best IPL inning and one of the best matches in the history of the T20 league.

#1 91* vs Sri Lanka, Wankhede Stadium, 2011

Dhoni finishes off in style

As a batsman, Dhoni had a below-par World Cup. But the enigmatic captain and batsman had saved his best for last! India needed 275 to win their second ever World Cup and this time, on home soil. At number five, Yuvraj Singh - the man of the tournament was supposed to come on to bat. But Dhoni decided to promote himself and what followed was the most important inning of his career.

Dhoni handled the spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Suraj Randiv pretty well and kept the scoreboard ticking. The match was won with a trademark Dhoni six off Nuwan Kulasekara and India were the winners of the 2011 World Cup!

This knock of Dhoni will be forever etched in every Indian cricket fan's memory and that six will be remembered as the most important one in India's history. Sunil Gavaskar said it best about that crucial inning, "When I die, the last thing I want to watch is the six that Dhoni hit in the World Cup final."