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Cricket Players'Each time Dhoni hit the ball, it went further and further': Sri Lanka legend recalls 'stunning knock' as MSD turns 41
It was only fitting that on MS Dhoni's birthday, a legendary Sri Lanka all-rounder reminisced one of the many epic innings played by the former India captain.
Yesterday, on July 7, 2022, the entire community of Indian cricket fans celebrated the birthday of MS Dhoni. India's most loved captain, Dhoni turned 41 on Thursday and even though he may not be an active international cricketer anymore, the outpour of love and adulation for him on social media was overwhelming. And it was only fitting that on Dhoni's special day, Russell Arnold, the legendary Sri Lanka all-rounder, reminisced one of the many epic innings played by the former India captain.
With over 10.000 runs in ODIs at an average of 50.57 in 350 matches, Dhoni the limited-overs batter was a legend in his own right. Having carved a batting career where Dhoni was best known to finish matches, the process began way back in 2005 itself, MSD's second year in international cricket, where he would floor oppositions with his big-hitting. Of the many memorable Dhoni knocks that come to mind, his innings of 183 not out against Sri Lanka in Jaipur stands out. It still remains the highest score ever by a wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs. Dhoni helped India chase down 298 inside 47 overs, and the rest, as they say, is history.
"Sachin was out in the first over and Virender Sehwag was out early too, but then India sprung a surprise. Out came MS Dhoni at No. 3. So that would tell you that even India with the batting of Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and others, they felt they needed to do something special. It wasn’t the first time Dhoni had batted No. 3; he had batted a few times prior to that – he had scored a hundred against Pakistan. But out he came and quietly took control. India getting to the target in 46 overs; the excitement and the buzz we had soon started disappearing," Arnold said in a video for Cricket.com.
It was only the second time in his career that Dhoni was promoted to bat at No. 3. The first time it happened was earlier in the same year when Sourav Ganguly had asked Dhoni to go one down and we all know how the move turned out – 148 vs Pakistan at Vizag. This time, the decision was captain Rahul Dravid's, but the outcome was same and the impact, only more brutal. Having said that Arnold did mention he wished to see Dhoni bat higher a lot more.
"It took him 145 balls to get India to 303 in the 46th over. Dhoni hitting 15 fours, 10 sixes… probably would have finished it earlier if I was given the ball. The good thing about this Dhoni inning was there was not a lot of running for us to do either because the ball kept sailing over out heads. And each time he hit the ball, it went further and further away. A stunning knock and a great move by India to surprise the opposition. I just wonder why didn’t he bat at No. 3 more. He probably could have done a lot of damage."
