Watch: When MS Dhoni stunned Danish Kaneria with outlandish shot

Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni could scare the living daylights of any opposition on his day. Known for his unorthodox batting and freakish hits, Dhoni had destroyed aby bowlers during his peak in the international circuit. One such incident happened during the 2006 Faisalabad Test between India and Pakistan.

The Test is best remembered for the feud between the Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria and then-young MS Dhoni. Kaneria raised the temperature on the match field when he sledged a barely five matches old Dhoni. When the Ranchi-born was playing at 39, Kaneria hit the ball towards the Indian keeper and it was just a few inches away from hitting Dhoni on his head.

The Pakistan spinner’s reaction to the entire episode confirmed that it was no mistake and he had done the deed deliberately to get under Dhoni’s skin. However, the move by Kaneria backfired as he clearly undermined the Indian batter’s capabilities. The wicketkeeper-batsman smashed the next delivery by the spinner hard to deliver it into the stands. 

MS Dhoni smashed his maiden Test century against Pakistan

Meanwhile, it was the shot by Dhoni a few overs later that left the fans and spectators in awe. A few overs after the feud with Dhoni, Kaneria bowled an around-the-stump delivery to the 40-year-old. The right-hander almost played an impossible shot to acquire four more runs in his kitty. 

The hit by Dhoni was outrageous, to say the least. The batsman just hit the bat hard when the ball was passing to send the ball backward for a boundary. After the astounding shot, MS reached 61 runs off 43 deliveries while playing at a strike rate of 140+. The video of the same is widely being circulated on social media. 

During the game, Mahi also achieved a milestone as he registered his maiden century in the purest format of the game. The right-hander ended up with  148 runs off 153 deliveries to tie the game. 

Also Read: Watch: When MS Dhoni replied to Danish Kaneria’s sledging in style