India vs Sri Lanka: MS Dhoni stands tall amid ruins with 67th half-century

MS Dhoni scored his 67th half-century on a day when the Indian cricket team struggled to negotiate the Sri Lankan cricket team’s seamers

MS Dhoni stood tall amidst a crumbling Indian batting line-up with his 67th half-century to take the home team to a triple-figure mark against Sri Lanka. (IND v SL updates)

Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni plays a shot during the first One day international (ODI) match between India and Sri Lanka at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamshala on December 10, 2017. Dhoni top-scored for India with 65. (AFP)

He reached the 50-run mark in 78 balls with help of eight fours and one six. But more than those statistics it was the way Dhoni guided the home team from crisis that stood out. (IND v SL scorecard)

With India being reduced to 29/7 in the 17th over, it looked like India would be all out for the lowest score ever (35 by Zimbabwe). But Dhoni had some other ideas.

First he combined with Kuldeep Yadav (19) to build a stiff resistance and put up a 41-run stand. After the latter fell to Akila Dananjaya, he combined with Jasprit Bumrah for a 17-run stand.

The stands may not be humongous but they save India the ignominy of scoring one of the lowest scores ever.

Dhoni reached his half-century in the 36th over as he hit Nuwan Pradeep for a four but was the last man dismissed as India were bundled out for 112.