5 Best MS Dhoni ODI Innings

Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni who bid adieu to international cricket surprisingly in August 2020 is definitely one of the most prolific batters in the history of ODI cricket, Having made his debut in 2004 against Bangladesh, Dhoni started as a hostile batsman who obliterated any obstacles on his way to the boundary. However, he gradually became a responsible contributor for India to tackle any crunch situation in any important match.

The Wicket-keeper batter did not only impress with keeping and batting, but his captaincy on the field was mind-boggling too. From 2004 to 2019, MS played a mammoth 350 matches and amassed 10773 runs at a staggering average of 50.13, and that too batting often down the order. His fascinating tally of runs would not have been completed without some special knocks, let’s contemplate the 5 best MS Dhoni ODI innings.

5 Best MS Dhoni ODI Innings

Here are the top 5 best ODI innings all time played by MS Dhoni –

Score	Against	Year
91*	Sri Lanka	2011
148	Pakistan	2005
183*	Sri Lanka	2005
113*	Pakistan	2012
134	England	2017

91* vs Sri Lanka,2011

An excellent unbeaten 91 off 79 balls against Sri Lanka on the special occasion of the 2011 World Cup final is indeed the best ODI innings by MS Dhoni in his 15 years of glorious career. India was pursuing 275 while losing Sachin and Sehwag early on and Virat Kohli also went back to the pavilion after a toilful 35, leaving India at 114/3. Dhoni had a below-average World Cup before the final and he came to bat before fluent Yuvraj Singh at the grand stage citing a left-right combination to combat the dangerous duo of Muttiah Muralitahran and Suraj Randiv. From there, the stalwart first stitched a 109 runs partnership with Gambhir who made a sensational 97, and then succeeded it with a 54 runs stand with Yuvraj Singh for the 5th wicket. He smashed 8 boundaries and 2 sixes in his innings, including the 6 off Nuwan Kulasekara to the Long on which sealed the game for India by 6 wickets. 

148 vs Pakistan, 2005 

The 2005 Pakistan tour of India was Dhoni’s 2nd international series and the start of his career was not up to the mark as he made 0,12.7* & 3 in his first four innings. But the contemporary skipper of the Indian team, Sourav Ganguly let Dhoni flourish at No 3 giving up his spot in the 2nd ODI and he put up a show of master power-hitting, amassing a scintillating 148 off 123 balls, one of the best ODI innings, against a quality bowling lineup made of Mohammad Sami, Shahid Afridi, Naveed Ul Hasan, and Abdul Razzaq in Visakhapatnam. His newly made fans saw him bashing 15 fours and 4 maximums in the process to power India to a huge total of 356/9 and eventually India recorded a victory by 58 runs. 

183* vs Sri Lanka, 2005

MS Dhoni’s match-clutching 183* against Sri Lanka in Jaipur in 2005 certainly belongs to his best ODI innings list. This three-digit score came off just 145 balls at a healthy strike rate of 126.20 with the help of 15 fours and 10 sixes while chasing a fighting score of 299 which Lanka reached riding on Kumar Sangakkara’s stupendous 138. Dhoni wreaked havoc on bowlers like Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Mahroof, Muttiah Muralitharan, etc on the way to winning the match for the hosts by 6 wickets and 23 balls to spare. 

113* vs Pakistan, 2012

The gutsy innings of unbeaten 113 is MS Dhoni’s probably the best ODI innings in a losing cause. It was Pakistan’s last tour to India which they won by 2-1. Batting first India was struggling at 29/5 in the 10th over because young Junaid Khan ran through the Indian top order, dismissing Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, and Rohit Sharma all at a single digit score. Having appeared at No.7, the Indian skipper displayed patience and perseverance amid the scorching heat of Chennai and built the superb innings with 7 fours, 3 sixes, and countless single-doubles to guide India to a respectable total of 227/6 in 50 overs. At times, touching 100 seemed to be difficult in front of the hostile spells by Pakistani bowlers. Although, a magnificent 101* from visiting opener Nasir Jamshed aided to go past the target with 11 balls to spare and 6 wickets in hand. 

134 vs England, 2017 

MS Dhoni’s 134 vs England in the 2nd ODI of the England tour of India in 2017 has to be among his best ODI innings. Having stopped to bat first, India was reduced to 25/3 in 4.4 overs, then newly resigned skipper MS Dhoni inflicted a vicious attack on the English bowling unit along with Yuvraj Singh to aggregate 256 runs for 5th wicket, where Yuvi added 150 runs. The vintage duo beat the drums of bowlers like Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, and Jake Ball mercilessly and hammered them for 31 fours and 9 sixes combined to post 382 runs for England and register a triumph by a narrow margin of 15 runs.