7 Times when ’07 Dhoni’ cost India a ‘Win’

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, nicknamed as ‘Mr. Cool’ is the treasure of talent and best known for his cool deportment and selfless actions on the field. The Ranchi-based cricketer’s remarkable tributes towards the national team have brandished a birthright which is hard to be changed. In fact, Cricket has not only built Dhoni’s character but has also admitted it in the best possible way.

Dhoni is the only captain in the history of cricket who has won all three ICC trophies; ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, ICC ODI World Cup in 2011, and ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

However, former Indian skipper, is one of the best Wicket-keepers in history of cricket, having achieved several world records in his career. 

As we know there is not a single promising player in cricket history than Dhoni, when it comes to the chore of finishing the matches in the limited-overs format.

There are a number of occasions where Dhoni persisted in triumphant chases and that makes him the most experienced player of do & die situations.

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni’s performances as a finisher could be unlocked in two counterparts, In the first half, the former Indian captain was brute on most occasions and in the second he has been quite calculative which nudged India in sufferings as well.

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On that note, here are the 7 occasions from MS Dhoni’s career when his batting cost the Indian team:

T20I vs Zimbabwe in Harare 2016

Tour of Zimbabwe in 2016, was the first time he was overseeing India in Zimbabwe and his first to that country in 11 years. India thumped the hosts in the ODI series which they shut by 2-1 margin.

Elton Chigumbura hit a record seven sixes during his 26-ball 54 as the hosts ended up with a solid total of 170/6 in the first T20.

Dhoni came to bat when India needed 81 from 46 balls but failed to score at a quick pace. He took singles which led to the pressure increasing at the other end.

After Manish Pandey’s dismissal, Axar Patel scored a quick 18 from only 9 balls. He was dismissed on the 2nd ball of the final over when India needed seven more runs to win.

Neville Madziva bowled the final delivery close to the wide line which didn’t give a chance for Dhoni to get proper contact. Only one run came off that ball as India lost the match by two runs. The Indian skipper remained unbeaten on 19 from 17 balls.

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T20I vs England in Birmingham 2014

After losing the Test series in 2014 tour of England, India shook back in the ODI series which they won by 3-1 margin with a hat-trick of wins. The tour was set to conclude with a one-off T20I at the Edgbaston. England skipper Eoin Morgan scored 71 from only 31 balls having crashed as many as ten boundaries.

However, Virat Kohli changed the things in the one-off T20I where he scored a quick-fire fifty. Kohli scored a 41-ball 66 with 9 fours and a maximum after bringing down the required rate below nine.

MS Dhoni walked in after his dismissal when India needed 50 runs from 34 balls. In the 22 balls from there on, India managed to score only 24 runs.

The Indian keeper-captain began the over with a six and followed with a couple. He miscued the 3rd ball but rejected to turn back the strike to Rayudu and hit one straight to the fielder and maintained the strike by refusing a single.

Dhoni could only pick a run on the last ball as he failed to get the connection and left India three runs short of England’s total.

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ODI vs South Africa in Kanpur 2015

South Africa began their 2015 tour of India with a 2-0 win during the T20I series. Skipper AB de Villiers gave a good start to the Proteas in the ODI series as he scored an unbeaten 104 from 73 balls to help his team finish with 303/5 in the Kanpur ODI.

Dhoni stepped to the crease with 90 runs needed from 60 balls after the dismissal of Virat Kohli. India has placed at 214/3 after 40 overs thanks to an unbeaten hundred from Rohit Sharma. The duo of Rohit and Dhoni added 55 runs in the next six overs.

The Indian opener alone scored 42 runs in 20 balls in those six overs while Dhoni’s struggles kept South Africa in the game. Dhoni was batting on 10 from 17 balls at the start of the 48th over.

He scored 18 runs in the next ten balls he faced as India were left to chase 11 runs in the last over to be bowled by Kagiso Rabada.

Dhoni had to clear the 4th ball at any cost as only four runs came from the first three deliveries. But the Indian skipper could only get the ball high in the air which ended up in the hands of Rabada.

The speedster got the wicket of Stuart Binny on the penultimate ball and gave away just a single on the last delivery to seal a 5-run win for the visitors.

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T20I vs New Zealand in Chennai 2012

India was set to face New Zealand in a 2-match T20I series after a comfortable 2-0 win in the Test series over the visitors.

Virat Kohli was determined to finish off the chase on his own. Opening the innings, he scored 70 from 41 balls and was dismissed when India needed 48 off 40 balls.

MS Dhoni walked to bat alongside Yuvraj Singh who was making his comeback after recovering from cancer. Yuvraj was 20 off 11 balls when India lost their 3rd wicket in form of Kohli. India scored only 16 runs in the next 22 balls as skipper Dhoni scored only 9 runs from the 15 balls he faced.

However, Yuvraj was cleaned up on the 4th ball trying to ease the chase with a boundary. Dhoni was stranded at the non-striker’s end while the new batsman Rohit Sharma took the strike.

Rohit was in a woeful form going into this match but did his best to take a couple each on the last two deliveries but left India two runs short of a win.

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ODI vs Sri Lanka in Rajkot 2007

In 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka during the 2007 4-match series the Indian pacers reduced Sri Lanka to 58/4 after winning the toss.

However, Kumar Sangakkara knocked 11 fours and four maximums during his 127-ball 110 to power the Lankans to 257/8 with the help of partnerships with middle and lower-order batsmen.

MS Dhoni was joined by Dinesh Karthik when India were 169/5 in 30 overs. The duo put on 66 from 94 balls for the 6th wicket as India were only 23 runs away from a win.

Dhoni was batting on 43 off 63 balls having not hit a boundary ahead of the final over when India needed 11 runs to win.

MSD enlisted his first boundary of the innings by smashing one down the ground on the 4th ball of the over bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya.

With six runs needed from the last two deliveries, Dhoni tried to clear the fence over the cover area but found the fielder in the deep. The last batsman Sreesanth failed to connect the final ball of the match as India lost by 5 runs.

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ODI vs West Indies in Antigua 2017

After losing the Champions Trophy final in 2017, India was leading the series 2-0 by end of the 3rd match and was set to seal the series in Antigua.

West Indies were impeded to just 189/9 in their 50 overs despite each of their top five scoring 20+ runs. Umesh Yadav and Hardik Pandya claimed three wickets apiece while Kuldeep Yadav bagged two wickets.

India lost three quick wickets but Ajinkya Rahane’s 91-ball 60 helped the visitors stay in the hunt. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja marked quick runs but were dismissed without finishing.

India was seven wickets down by 47.3 overs with another 17 runs more to be scored. India needed 16 runs from the last two overs but they could only get two runs in the 49th over alongside losing the wicket of MS Dhoni.

The wicketkeeper-batsman needed 109 balls to bring up his fifty and finished the innings with a strike rate of 47. India lost their last two wickets in the 50th over where they needed 14 runs to win but got only two runs.

As a result, the home team won the match by 11 runs and reduced the Indian lead in the 5-match series to 2-1.

Also Read Top 5 Best Decisions Made by MS Dhoni ‘The Captain Cool’

T20I vs West Indies in Lauderhill 2016

India toured the Caribbean Islands for a 4-match Test series. During that series, a 2-match T20I series was planned between the two teams in the USA. In the first T20I, the West Indies openers Evin Lewis and Johnson Charles blasted a 126-run opening stand in only 9.3 overs.

India’s chase was boosted by an 89-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in only 7.1 overs.

MS Dhoni then joined Rahul as the duo added 101 in only 43 balls with Rahul alone scoring 57 from 22 balls. India needed only 8 runs in the 20th over to be bowled by Dwayne Bravo.

India picked singles on the first four balls and Dhoni picked up a couple on the penultimate delivery.

The last delivery was a replica of the over’s 1st ball as the Indian skipper edged straight to Samuels who didn’t drop again. This meant KL Rahul’s quick-fire knock resulted in a defeat as India lost the match by mere one run.

Dhoni ended on 43 from 25 balls at a strike rate of 172 easily lowest among the five players who faced 20+ balls. Lewis, Rahul, Charles and Rohit all had a batting strike rate of 200+. Had India ended on the winning side, their chase of 246 would have been the highest ever in T20 history.

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