On This Day: MS Dhoni scored maiden ODI century vs Pakistan in Visakhapatnam

MS Dhoni scored maiden ODI century: The legendary Indian cricketer announced himself to the world on this day in 2005.

On this day in 2005, former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced himself to the world on the back of his maiden ODI century against Pakistan during the second ODI of Pakistan’s tour of India in Visakhapatnam.

Having scored a total of 22 runs at No. 7 in his first four ODIs, Dhoni gleefully accepted the batting promotion to No. 3 with both hands. Coming in to bat in the fourth over, the next 38 overs pretty much changed everything in the right direction for Dhoni.

Sharing a brisk 96-run partnership for the second wicket alongside opening batsman Virender Sehwag (74), Dhoni played his natural game to the best of his efforts and didn’t appear to get his eye in first especially when the senior batsman was tearing the Pakistani bowling attack apart.

It was on the penultimate delivery of the 20th over that Dhoni ran a single off Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami to complete his maiden half-century.

With captain Sourav Ganguly (9) also back in the pavilion, what followed was a 149-run partnership dominated by Dhoni alongside vice-captain Rahul Dravid. On the second delivery of the 32nd over, Dhoni ran a single off Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi to reach the three-figure mark.

23-year old fearless Dhoni continued to play his shots and make the most of a historic knock before getting out to Pakistan all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez after scoring 148 (123) with the help of 15 fours and four sixes. The mind-blowing innings earned Dhoni the first of his 21 ‘Man of the Match’ awards in ODIs as India registered a 58-run victory after posting 356-9 in 50 overs.

In the 17th ODIs that Dhoni played at No. 3, he scored 993 runs at an average of 82.75 and a strike rate of 99.69 including two centuries and six half-centuries.

MS Dhoni scored maiden ODI century

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About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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