MS Dhoni's top 3 Test knocks in England

While Mahendra Singh Dhoni has made a name for himself as a legendary captain across all formats and a reliable finisher in limited-overs cricket, his record as a batter in the Pataudi Trophy is often overlooked.

In the 12 Tests the wicket-keeper has played in England, he has scored 778 runs in 23 innings at an average of 37.04, almost as high as his career average of 38.09. Many of these knocks came in pressure situations when MS was the only batter holding the innings against the deadly English swing bowlers.

A day after Dhoni’s birthday and following the recently concluded Pataudi Trophy, let's look at three of Captain Cool’s best innings against in England against the home team.

#3) 77 (96), Birmingham 2011

Already 2-0 in the series, world champions India were fighting for pride for the remainder of the 2011 Pataudi Trophy after being heavily outplayed in the first two games.

However, the visitors looked unmotivated as they crumbled to 92-5. With three batters having already returned to the pavilion with single digits, it was up to the skipper to repair the innings with VVS Laxman and the tail.

However, the magician from Hyderabad departed just an over after Dhoni arrived at the crease. At 100-6, the innings looked done and dusted to everyone watching. MS Dhoni, though, stood his ground with the tail, with the aim of taking his team to a respectable total.

He put on a run-a-ball partnership with Praveen Kumar worth 84 runs, and a 29-run partnership with Ishant Sharma, adding some respect to the Indian total. The skipper was aggressive in his approach while being careful with his wicket, and this solid balance took India to 224 all out from a dismal 100-6.

A pitched-up delivery by Stuart Broad saw Dhoni making a silly mistake and losing his wicket for 77 runs in just 96 balls. He hit 10 boundaries and three sixers in his knock.

This innings from Dhoni, however, was far from enough to save the Indian blushes. Alastair Cook smashed 294 runs, taking England's first-innings total to 710-7 before the side declared and won the match by an innings.

#2) 76* (159), Lord's 2007

Coming into the series against England in England in July of 2007, India were yet to move on from their disastrous failure in the 2007 World Cup. The favorites exited the tournament in the group stage. This tour proved an opportunity for the Indian team to come back strong and prove to the world that the World Cup debacle was a one-off.

Winning the toss, captain Michael Vaughan elected to bat first. England posted 298 runs following a solid first innings. In response, the Indian batting lineup put up a poor 201 in their first innings, giving the home team a lead of 97. England extended their lead to a humongous 379 after another strong performance with the bat.

Needing to save the Test in four sessions, India fell to 156-5 by the morning of Day 5. A young but energetic MS walked in to meet veteran VVS Laxman to bat out the day. The duo put up a solid partnership of almost thirty overs before the latter departed to a good length delivery from Chris Tremlett.

From here on, Dhoni started running out of partners post-lunch as he valiantly fought against the English bowlers to save his wicket.

In a sudden twist of events, an outburst of rain and bad light saved the Indian team. A final-wicket partnership of 19 off 30 balls with Sreesanth saved the Test for Team India.

#1) 71 (133), Manchester 2014

With the series tied at 1-1, the fourth Test in Manchester was likely to be the do-or-die match in the Pataudi Trophy in 2014. Choosing to bat first turned out to be a disastrous decision for the Indian team. They found themselves at an unbelievably poor 8-4 after a superb opening spell from Anderson and Broad. This is when MS Dhoni entered the pitch.

The captain began building the innings after Ajinkya Rahane got out at 62-4, playing a drive to Chris Jordan. The next batter, Ravindra Jadeja, was dismissed without troubling the score, leaving India struggling at 63-6.

Ravichandran Ashwin and MS Dhoni then put up 66 runs for the seventh wicket, with the former departing for a well-made counterattacking 40 runs. Once Ashwin was out, it was the MS Dhoni show at Manchester. He accumulated 71 runs in 133 deliveries before guiding his shot straight to Chris Jordan at deep backward square leg.

Dhoni's patient innings took India from 8-4 to 152 all out, giving the India bowlers a glimmer of hope. However, Dhoni’s brilliant knock went in vain as England scored 367 runs in their first innings and bowled India out for a poor 161 all-out to win the match by an innings and 54 runs.