The hallmark of a great player is to stand up when the team needs it the most.
Consider the situation, your team is 29/5 and you walk in with pressure, criticism and bad form to deal with. It does not help matters when you are the skipper ?too.
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That's exactly the state of affairs that MS Dhoni faced in the first ODI against Pakistan in 2012 in Chennai.
Junaid Khan's four lethal strikes saw the likes of Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma back in the pavilion and the famed Indian batting line up was looking lost. In walked the skipper at this point and he knew he had to perhaps play the innings of his life.
That's just what he did. With a mixture of attacking strokes and defensive shots, Dhoni started to guide the total towards some respectability. It was not easy in the face of some hostile and accurate bowling by the Pakistanis. Nonetheless Captain Cool stood defiant in the face of adversity.
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His efforts bore fruit as the runs began to come. India finished on 227/6 in 50 overs which was a great improvement from 29/5. Dhoni made 113 not out in 125 balls. He hit 7 fours and 3 sixes.
Sadly 228 was not a target to challenge Pakistan's batting as they romped home by 6 wickets. But Dhoni had once again proved why he was India's best finisher and one of the best in the world.
It is perhaps the most difficult innings he ever played and was what prevented Pakistan from bowling us out for less then 100.
Even now, the knock is regarded as Dhoni's best under pressure. Even the Pakistanis will grudgingly admit that they saw a masterclass from a man who just does not know when to give up. ?