February 24, 2013. The venue Chennai. India had just lost Sachin Tendulkar for a well-made 81 and the score was 196/4. At the other end was Virat Kohli, who was settling in slowly. The Aussies had got a crucial wicket and with India still trailing by 184 runs, the visitors had a chance to get back into the game.
But alas, it was not to be. For at that point in the match another man walked out to bat, a man who was leading the side at that time. By the time he was done, Australia were out of contention. When the match ended, it was India who won by 8 wickets and would eventually whitewash them 4-0 to bring back the rubber. But it was that knock by that man that set the tone. That man was MS Dhoni.?
Dhoni did not waste anytime at the crease and was soon in his usual flow of runs. Along with Kohli (107) he put on 128 runs for the 5th wicket. The Aussies tried everything but it was useless. He picked the gaps with precision and also went over the top when needed.?
India did find themselves in a spot of bother at 406/8 with only a 26-run lead, but Dhoni then changed gears. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar (38) for company, he added 140 runs for the 9th wicket and by the time he fell the next day, Australia had been batted out of the game.?
In the course of his innings, he reached 50, 100, 150 and then came the 200. Dhoni became the first Indian keeper to breach the double ton and till now he is the only one to have done it from our country. When Dhoni departed, his score 224 and India were 546/9. We finished with 572, Australia managed just 241 in their next innings and we knocked off the 50-run target with ease. The match just about made it to the first session of the 5th day.?
Dhoni's knock came in 265 balls and contained 24 fours along with 6 sixes. It remains the highest knock by an Indian keeper and even 7 years later, we look back on it fondly.?
That knock and that Test pretty much showed how the series would pan out. It went India's way and Dhoni's innings was the first of many nails in the Aussie coffin on that tour. It was his first and only double hundred in Test cricket. ??